Bricklayers in Lagos State have urged youths to embrace the vocation as a means of tackling the high unemployment rate in the country.
They stated this at the 2023 edition of the Lagos State Bricklayers Association Annual General Meeting and Lecture with the theme “Traditional Masonry Techniques and Advancing Building Technology’, which was sponsored by Dangote Cement Plc, in Lagos, recently.
The pioneer President of the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Kunle Awobodu, said youths should be encouraged to take up bricklaying to gain employment after graduating from school.
He said, “Bricklaying is a good trade that society needs daily, and you can make a lot of money through it. Bricklaying is important for both employment and wealth creation in the face of scarcity of white-collar jobs; such an engagement would discourage them from internet fraud referred to as ‘Yahoo Yahoo’.
“In addition, bricklayers should embrace new technologies for durable constructions that would boost production and guarantee quality assurance, and adapt to the new methods through capacity building programmes.”
In the same vein, a former Head of Building Department, Yaba College of Technology, Dr Emmanuel Aladeloba, said rather than blocks being carried on the head, youths can leverage technology.
He said, “You do not need to carry blocks on your heads now. There are machines that can do that as well as plastering machines which will ease your work and enhance productivity.
According to him, artisans must be honest and transparent while working on sites unmonitored, charging them to use the right measurements and materials.
“It is only when the house you built stays for long without cracking or collapsing that you can be called a bricklayer,” he said.
He warned artisans against accepting low pay to engage in substandard construction that could collapse in the future and result in loss of lives and waste of investments.
Earlier, in his welcome address, LSBA President, Taye Dauda, thanked Dangote Cement for training and re-training its members.
He said, “Nobody was above training no matter his years of experience on the job, LSBA’s continued collaboration with relevant agencies to curb building collapse in Lagos State would continue.”
According to the President of the Association of Building Artisans of Nigeria, Mr Jimmy Oshinubi, Nigerians prefer foreign artisans because their charges are cheaper.
The association urged the government to create jobs for local artisans.
Source: Punch
