Dangote Cement Inducts Over 100 Engineers Following Graduate Trainee Programme Completion
By The People’s Voice Nigeria News
Dangote Cement Plc has formally inducted nearly 200 newly trained engineers and professionals into its workforce following the successful completion of its Graduate Trainee Programme, reaffirming the company’s commitment to job creation, skills development, and local capacity building in Nigeria.
The trainees, drawn from engineering, finance, IT, and other disciplines, completed an intensive 18-month training programme that combined classroom instruction at Dangote Academy with on-the-job learning across the company’s four plants and Head Office. The programme is designed to groom high-potential professionals for future leadership roles through cross-functional exposure, executive mentorship, and hands-on project execution.
During the programme, trainees were deployed across Dangote Cement’s operational sites, acquiring practical industry experience under the guidance of seasoned professionals. Several trainees have already been integrated into cement operations across Nigeria and other African countries.
Some of the newly inducted Graduate trainees of the Dangote Cement, posing with some Board members and the Programme Coordinator, Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem, at the induction ceremony and Long Service Awards / Hall of Fame Employee Awards held in Lagos over the weekend
Speaking at the induction ceremony in Lagos, Managing Director and CEO, Mr. Arvind Pathak, emphasised the significance of the event:
“We are honouring our staff for their long service and celebrating graduate trainees as they round off their induction programme. Despite economic challenges, your resilience and commitment have strengthened our position as the dominant cement producer not just in Nigeria, but across Africa.”
The ceremony also recognised outstanding employees through Long Service Awards and Hall of Fame Employee Awards, celebrating staff who have demonstrated Dangote Cement’s core values of customer focus, entrepreneurship, excellence, and leadership for at least five years. Awardees received substantial monetary rewards in appreciation of their dedication.
Acting Group Human Resources Officer, Mr. Ahmed Ladan Gobir, described the Graduate Trainee Programme as a strategic initiative to equip young engineers with world-class skills and industry exposure:
“Nigeria’s greatest asset is its young people. Through initiatives like this, we provide them the platform to build meaningful careers, contribute to national development, and emerge as the next generation of African industrial leaders.”
The newly inducted Graduate trainees of the Dangote Cement, posing with some of the Board members and the Programme Coordinator, Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem, at the induction ceremony and Long Service Awards / Hall of Fame Employee Awards held in Lagos over the weekend
Recognising exceptional performance, Programme Coordinator Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem highlighted four standout trainees Engr. Mary Nnana, Engr. Ahmad Sunusi Abdullahi, Engr. Ahmed Rufai Ahmed, and Engr. Ebenezer Afonja for their hands-on industrial competence. Their contributions included enhancing reporting and customer administration systems, performing raw and cement mill main drive alignments, conducting preheater fan dynamic balancing, and developing KPI tracking templates.
The four engineers also played key roles in installing and commissioning MIS servers at the Obajana Plant, while supporting the deployment of cement mill optimisation systems at the Obajana and Okpella plants.
Dangote Cement continues to reaffirm its position as Africa’s leading cement producer, targeting a production capacity of 90 million metric tonnes per annum by 2030, and solidifying Nigeria’s transformation into a net exporter of cement to neighbouring countries.
