UK to train Nigeria’s Calabar Garment Factory workers

The British government has expressed its willingness to train the needed manpower for the take-off of the Calabar Garment Factory in Nigeria, according to media reports. Paul Arkwright, British high commissioner to Nigeria, disclosed this at governor Ben Ayade’s office in Calabar, a city in Cross River State, south southern Nigeria.

“The factory holds huge employment opportunities that could be translated into enormous wealth creation amongst youth,” said Arkwright who recently paid a visit to the garment factory together with Ayade. “Like I told the governor, when we met in his office, we are working on details of how to move in as quickly as possible to kickstart the training, by bringing in expertise,” he further added.

Arkwright appreciated the level of work done on the project and assured to bring in British expertise that would help to comprehend the goals of the project deliberately for skill and vocational development which would in turn improve business opportunities in Cross River state.

Expatriates from Britain will train the factory’s workforce in some critical areas of textile making to build the needed capacity and create the desired jobs.

“With the right kind of will and matching the right expertise, we can really make a difference. Though talks are still in the preliminary stages, we are determined to push forward a bit,” the high commissioner said.

Cross River state governor, Ayade said, “the partnership with the UK is one we are going for excellent and first class expertise. This is a strong partnership and we are hopeful that with strong commitments on training and guaranteed technical competence, Nigeria can maximise her potential on the garment sub-sector of the economy. The message for Africans is that Britain, finally, is all out here to start doing business.”