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Mobile Screens and Sound (MSS) Events Tech Academy has graduated its first cohort of 56 professionals trained in different areas of event technology, with a charge to uphold integrity, professionalism and good character as they enter the industry.
The graduates completed a 10-week intensive programme covering LED screen engineering, sound engineering, camera craft and video production, lighting design and control, event management and production, rigging and trussing, among other specialised skills.
They were formally inducted into the industry at the academy’s graduation ceremony and live capstone showcase themed, “Certifying the Next Generation of Event Tech Professionals.”
Managing Director of MSS Academy, Tunbosun Kola-Daisi, said the initiative was established to create employment opportunities for young Nigerians, reduce youth idleness and equip participants with practical skills required by the expanding events industry. He said the academy was also created to address the shortage of properly trained and structured professionals in the sector.
“First, it breaks my heart to see so many young people idle, doing nothing, getting into trouble and looking for shortcuts in life.
“Secondly, having been in this industry for 20 years, I have realised that there are many unprofessional and unstructured talents, or even people who may not necessarily have the required skills, operating within the industry. This training is therefore very much needed,” he said.
Kola-Daisi described the events industry as a major youth-driven sector with considerable potential for employment creation and economic growth, stressing that trained manpower was needed to close existing skills gaps.
According to him, the impact of the programme would extend beyond the 56 graduates as beneficiaries who secure jobs or establish businesses could in turn create employment for others.
“I believe this training will contribute to economic growth because the beneficiaries will be able to provide for themselves and their families. Once they become gainfully employed, they can also employ others. In that way, the impact will multiply and continue to grow,” he said.
He said MSS was also investing in new technology and constantly updating its operations to remain competitive in the rapidly changing events industry.
“Looking ahead to the next decade, we are constantly reinventing ourselves and updating our operations with technology. We have partners who develop equipment and technologies that keep us abreast of what is coming next. We are always positioning ourselves to adopt new technologies and remain relevant,” he said.
Kola-Daisi said the company, which currently operates mainly in Nigeria, particularly in the South-West, planned to expand into the northern and eastern parts of the country and eventually beyond Nigeria.
He identified inadequate infrastructure and security challenges in some parts of the country as factors slowing expansion, but said MSS would establish branches as conditions improved.
According to him, the company was also exploring franchise arrangements that would allow partners in other African markets to adopt its brand, expertise, technology and operational standards.
Vice Chancellor of KolaDaisi University, Prof. Olajumoke Morenikeji, said the university was ready to collaborate with industry-focused organisations such as MSS Events Tech to equip young Nigerians with practical, employable skills.
“Our university is well disposed to collaborating with institutions and industry-affiliated organisations that are training young Nigerians to become better equipped for the future,” she said.
Morenikeji said practical training should complement academic learning and help students acquire entrepreneurial and industry-relevant skills capable of translating into sustainable livelihoods.
“We want our students to acquire not just academic knowledge, but also the practical skills that can enable them to become entrepreneurs, establish their own enterprises and become industry-focused professionals,” she said.
Facilitators at the event also commended the academy and the graduates for attaining the milestone, describing the ceremony as an important step in formally introducing the trainees into the event technology industry.
They urged the graduates to put their newly acquired skills to productive use, uphold integrity and professionalism, and maintain the standards associated with the academy.
Other speakers also advised them to continue improving their skills, trust their abilities, remain humble and allow the quality of their work to speak for them.
