Dangote Cement Plc has inducted almost 200 newly trained engineers and other professionals into its workforce after 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 newly inducted employees were drawn from engineering, finance, information technology, and other professional disciplines. They were formally welcomed into the company over the weekend after completing an intensive 18-month training programme that combined classroom learning with practical, on-the-job experience.
The training was conducted at the Dangote Academy, across four cement plant locations in Nigeria, and at the company’s Head Office. The programme was designed to expose participants to real industry operations while equipping them with the technical and professional skills required to function effectively within the organisation.
According to the company, the Graduate Trainee Programme is a structured development journey aimed at grooming high-potential professionals for future leadership roles. It focuses on cross-functional exposure, classroom instruction, executive mentorship, and hands-on project execution across different operational areas.
During the programme, trainees were deployed to various Dangote Cement plants and operational locations, where they gained practical industry experience and received guidance from seasoned professionals within the organisation. The company noted that several of the trainees have since been integrated into its cement operations in Nigeria and other African countries.
Dangote Cement stated that the induction of the new engineers and professionals reflects its sustained commitment to providing meaningful employment opportunities and strengthening indigenous technical expertise across its operations on the continent.
In addition to the induction ceremony, the company also honoured outstanding staff members with Long Service Awards and Hall of Fame Employee Awards. The awards were presented in recognition of employees’ dedication and consistent demonstration of the company’s core values of customer focus, entrepreneurship, excellence, and leadership.
The award recipients, who received substantial monetary rewards, have each served the company for a minimum of five years, according to Dangote Cement.
Speaking at the ceremony held in Lagos, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Dangote Cement Plc, Mr. Arvind Pathak, said the event was organised to celebrate employees who have made significant contributions to the company’s growth and success.
“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,” Pathak said.
He commended employees for their resilience in the face of prevailing economic challenges, noting that the company recorded strong performance in 2025 despite operating in a difficult environment.
“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 stated.
Pathak added that Dangote Cement remains Africa’s leading cement producer and is targeting a production capacity of 90 million metric tonnes per annum across the continent by 2030.
“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 said.
Also speaking at the event, the Acting Group Human Resources Officer, Mr. Ahmed Ladan Gobir, described the Graduate Trainee Programme as a strategic initiative aimed at equipping newly graduated engineers with world class skills and deep industry exposure.
“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,” 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,” he added.
Recognising four exceptional graduate trainees, the Programme Coordinator, Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem, said the awardees demonstrated outstanding hands-on industrial competence throughout the programme.
According to him, their contributions included improving reporting and customer administration systems, undertaking raw and cement mill main drive alignments, carrying out preheater fan dynamic balancing, and developing templates for documenting and tracking key plant performance indicators.
The four engineers, Engr. Mary Nnana, Engr. Ahmad Sunusi Abdullahi, Engr. Ahmed Rufai Ahmed, and Engr. Ebenezer Afonja, also played key roles in the installation and commissioning of MIS servers at the Obajana Plant, as well as supporting the deployment of cement mill optimisation systems at the Obajana and Okpella plants.
