Dangote Cement Plc has inducted nearly 200 newly trained engineers and other professionals into its workforce following the successful completion of its Graduate Trainee Programme.
Speaking at the induction 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, while officially welcoming the latest cohort of graduate trainees into full-time roles.
“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 despite prevailing economic challenges, noting that Dangote Cement recorded strong performance in 2025 in spite of a difficult operating 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. He noted that the company has eliminated Nigeria’s dependence on imported cement and transformed the country into a net exporter to neighbouring nations.
The newly inducted employees completed an intensive 18-month Graduate Trainee Programme, which combined classroom instruction and hands-on industry experience. The training was conducted at the Dangote Academy, the company’s four cement plants across Nigeria, and its head office.
Participants were drawn from engineering, finance, information technology, and other professional disciplines. During the programme, they were deployed across Dangote Cement’s plants and operational locations, where they gained practical experience and benefited from mentorship by seasoned professionals.
The company disclosed that several of the trainees have already been integrated into its operations in Nigeria and other African countries.
Dangote Cement stated that the induction reflects its sustained commitment to providing meaningful employment opportunities and strengthening indigenous technical expertise across its operations.
Also speaking at the event, the Acting Group Human Resources Officer, Mr. Ahmed Ladan Gobir, described the Graduate Trainee Programme as a strategic initiative designed to equip young professionals 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 building the next generation of African industrial leaders.”
In addition to the induction ceremony, Dangote Cement honoured outstanding staff with Long Service Awards and Hall of Fame Employee Awards in recognition of their dedication and consistent demonstration of the company’s core values.
Award recipients, who received monetary rewards, have each served the organisation for a minimum of five years.
Recognising four exceptional graduate trainees, the Programme Coordinator, Mr. Iyal H. Abdulkareem, said the awardees distinguished themselves through outstanding industrial competence during the programme.
He explained that their contributions included improvements to reporting and customer administration systems, raw and cement mill drive alignments, preheater fan dynamic balancing, and the development of templates for tracking key plant performance indicators.
The award recipients; 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 cement mill optimisation systems at the Obajana and Okpella plants.