Dangote Cement Employs 200 Fresh Graduates to Boost Local Industry
By Patience Ikpeme
In a major move to tackle unemployment and build local talent, Dangote Cement Plc has officially welcomed nearly 200 newly trained engineers and professionals into its permanent workforce.
The new employees joined the company after finishing a tough 18-month Graduate Trainee Programme designed to turn fresh graduates into industry experts.
The trainees, who specialize in fields like engineering, finance, and information technology, spent a year and a half learning the ropes at the Dangote Academy and across the company’s four major plants in Nigeria.
During this period, they moved from classrooms to real-life factory floors, learning directly from senior experts in the cement business.
Many of these new staff members have already been posted to various cement plants within Nigeria and other African countries where the company operates. The management said this move shows their promise to give young Nigerians good jobs and make sure the country has its own technical experts to run big industries.
During the graduation and award ceremony held in Lagos over the weekend, the company also rewarded its long-serving workers with huge cash prizes. These workers were recognized for their hard work and for staying with the company for at least five years.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Arvind Pathak, explained that the event was a double celebration for the company. He said the gathering was to cheer for workers who have helped the company grow and to welcome the fresh trainees who are just starting their journey.
“We are honouring some of our staff for their long service to the company, and we are also celebrating our graduate trainees who are officially rounding off their induction programme,” Mr. Pathak said.
He praised the workers for standing strong even though the economy has been very tough recently. He noted that even with the hard times in 2025, the company did very well because the staff refused to give up.
“Despite the economic turbulence, your resilience and tenacity enabled us to overcome numerous challenges and achieve our objectives. More importantly, I thank you for your commitment and high performance, which have helped us retain our position as the dominant player in the cement sector—not only in Nigeria but across Africa,” he told the workers.
Mr. Pathak shared that the company wants to be able to produce 90 million metric tonnes of cement every year across Africa by the year 2030. He proudly mentioned that the hard work of the staff has stopped Nigeria from buying cement from other countries. Instead, Nigeria now sells cement to its neighbors.
“Through our collective determination, we have eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and transformed the country into a net exporter of cement to several neighbouring nations,” he added.
The Acting Group Human Resources Officer, Mr. Ahmed Ladan Gobir, said the training programme is a smart way to make sure young Nigerian graduates get world-class skills. He said the company believes that the youth are the most important part of the country.
“Nigeria’s greatest asset is its young people, and at Dangote Cement we are deliberate about empowering them with the skills, exposure, and opportunities required to succeed,” Mr. Gobir said. “Through initiatives such as our Graduate Trainee Programme, we are providing young engineers with the platform to build meaningful careers, contribute to national development, and emerge as the next generation of African industrial leaders.”
Four of the trainees were given special awards for being the best in their group. The Programme Coordinator, Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem, said these four showed they really knew their work during the practical sessions.
The top four engineers—Mary Nnana, Ahmad Sunusi Abdullahi, Ahmed Rufai Ahmed, and Ebenezer Afonja—did impressive work like fixing heavy factory machines, improving how the company tracks its work, and setting up new computer servers at the Obajana and Okpella plants.
