Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State on Tuesday challenged mechanics to embrace modern technology in their business to remain relevant in the automobile industry.
The governor gave the advice during the inauguration of the construction of additional facilities at the Multipurpose Automotive Training Workshop in Katsina.
He told them that technology had made the modern-day automobile industry to be mainly computer driven.
Masari maintained that the workshop was built in conjunction with the National Automotive Design and Development Council to give mechanics in the state the opportunity of learning modern methods of carrying out vehicle repairs and maintenance.
The governor declared, “The world is moving and moving very fast. And we have to face the realities of the moving world.
“Technology has changed your business. It is no longer spanner and hammer. Your business is now a work of brain and computer. That is why you see an 18-year-old boy driving a 48 or 60 tonnes vehicle and manipulating it.
“For you to remain relevant, you have to learn modern skills.
“That is why we have this workshop here. But we are adding these facilities to assist those among your colleagues who are from far away from Katsina with a dormitory where they can sleep; a cafeteria where they can eat and a mosque where they can pray while in Katsina.”
Masari’s Special Adviser on Higher Education, Dr Bashir Ruwangodiya,in his remarks at the event, observed that the location of the workshop would be an advantage to students, especially those of the state-owned Hassan Usman Katsina Polytechnic.
The special adviser also noted that the workshop would further give impetus to the state government’s desire to ensure that students in the state acquire relevant skills in addition to their academic pursuits.
The highlight of the event was the laying of the foundation for the additional facilities by Governor Masari.
