Samsung Electronics Nigeria Limited has launched an engineering academy in Nigeria – valued at about N8m($49,000) – to provide aspiring teenage engineers with training on refrigeration and air-conditioning systems.

The academy which was established to develop capacity in air conditioning system in secondary schools within Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city, is the second in the country after a similar one was launched in Lagos last year.

“This is the second engineering academy we are opening. We have earlier established a centre in Lagos,” confirmed Mr. Bruno Kim, Managing Director of the company. 

Apart from serving as an academy for the training of young secondary school engineers, Kim said that the academy would also serve as a support centre for consumers of the company’s products.

Samsung plans to roll out further centres across the country as it seeks to cover the large pool of engineering students. It has confirmed Ekiti, western Nigeria, as its next site.

“This is a big boost for the education sector in Nigeria. We will be doing all our practicals here,” enthused Kabir Usman, Abuja’s Education Secretary.

“Trade subjects were introduced into our secondary schools, about 24 of them, and refrigerators and air conditioner is one of them … So, this means a lot to the education sector because we’ve always had issues of obsolete and outdated equipment.”