The three-week intensive program of Bakery Initiatives Group (BIG), a Dutch bakery consulting firm, held at Surulere, Lagos ended on April 5, 2019 with over 50 participants benefiting.
According to Mr. Ephraim Mbanaso, the Country Representative and Chief Executive Officer of Bakery Initiatives Nigeria, the training is aimed at addressing one vital area of need his company identified in its interactions with bakery operators in Nigeria over the years which is dearth of well-groomed and professional bakers.
Mrs. Nike Richie-Ogbodu, Director and Head of BIG Training, informed participants that the program is in line with the BIG’s philosophy that identifies well-trained and grounded people as one of the essential pillars for the success of any bakery business.
For her, the idea behind the training is centered on skill acquisition for all categories of human resources needed for the effective and efficient running of bakery businesses.
The training program saw the participants trained on various aspects of bakery such as, technology and practice of baking of bread, cakes and pastries with special emphasis on recipes, effects of basic ingredients, cost calculations among others.
The company put the together the program to train and re-train bakers in Nigeria with a view to equipping them with the requisite knowledge to succeed in bakery business have described the program as mind blowing and exceeding their expectations.
With support funding from BMZ/develoPPP.de BIG used the program to acquaint participants with the necessary baking skills and other necessary knowledge needed to run bakeries profitably, while also exposing them to international best practices and emerging trends in the bakery industry.
Some of the participants bared their minds after completing the five-day intensive training program which ran in batches over three weeks.
According to Djebah Omolara, one of the trainees, “I was introduced by someone who participated in the program earlier and I could not believe that an organization can give out so much in so short a time without collecting money but being here today, I have seen for myself and I am whaooed.”
Another participant, Uduak Akpan, simply described the program as the best. In her words: “The experience and knowledge gained about baking various kinds of products and bakery business in general within the one week of the training is unimaginable.”
On his experience during the training, Richfield Andrew who has been in the bakery business for more than ten years says, “I was thrilled not only by the exposure to the new insights about baking various products but also the other area of the training that thought us the entrepreneurial aspect of bakery.”
The training program which is a continuation of Bakery Initiatives Group’s intervention in Nigeria began last year with a train-the-trainers program. The objective of the intervention is to increase the theoretical and practical knowledge of participants in the bakery and confectionary industry.
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