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Heritage, Mandate and Leadership

A Technical School Shaped by the Dockyard Environment.

Learn how NDAS was reactivated, what it exists to do, and why its training setting matters.

Heritage

Re-Commissioned to Rebuild Technical Continuity.

The Naval Dockyard Apprentice School was re-commissioned on 31 May 2019 after a prolonged period of dormancy. Its reactivation reflected a practical institutional need: to restore a structured apprenticeship pathway for training artisans and technicians relevant to naval engineering support.

NDAS is the technical training school of Naval Dockyard Limited. That relationship gives the School its distinctive relevance. Training is shaped by workshop culture, maintenance discipline, and the proximity of a real naval engineering environment.

Re-Commissioned InstitutionActive since 31 May 2019

2019

Re-Commissioned

Naval Dockyard

Apprentice School

Mandate

Mission, Vision and Values.

Mission

To train skilled artisans and technicians for dockyard, ship repair, maintenance, and related engineering support functions within the Nigerian Navy and the wider maritime sector.

Vision

To be a credible centre for practical apprenticeship training in maritime-related engineering trades, producing graduates whose skills are disciplined, useful, and relevant.

Values

The values of NDAS are centred around the Nigerian Navy Core Values — Integrity, Professionalism, and Teamwork. Apprentices are trained to be honest in all their conduct, to build technical competence with professionalism and personal discipline, and to complete projects collaboratively in the tradition of dockyard engineering practice.

IntegrityProfessionalismTeamwork

Nigerian Navy Core Values. Motto: Onward Together.

The NDL Advantage

NDAS operates inside Naval Dockyard Limited — a live, active shipyard on Victoria Island, Lagos. Technical learning remains in close proximity to real maintenance culture, genuine engineering practice, and operational naval relevance. No off-site training institution can replicate this environment. Apprentices do not simply learn about dockyard work; they learn within it.

BAC Batches

Engineering Trades

Objectives and Functions

What NDAS Is Designed to Do.

The overall objective of NDAS is to provide skilled technical manpower to Naval Dockyard Limited, Naval Shipyard Limited, Fleet Support Groups, civilian dockyards, and Nigeria's maritime sector. NDAS enables the Nigerian Navy to develop the specialist skills needed to fill capability gaps in its maintenance facilities and aboard its fleet.

Training spans a growing range of engineering fields: welding and fabrication, refrigeration and air conditioning, machining, pipe fitting, electrical wiring and circuit design, motor rewinding, minor ship construction, carpentry, woodwork, and mechatronics — areas that together represent the technical breadth of an active naval dockyard.

Conduct apprenticeship training to meet middle-skilled manpower requirements of the Nigerian Navy.

Develop appropriate curricula to reflect best practices across each trade programme.

Ascertain and enforce minimum standards for apprentices worthy of certification at NDAS.

Develop daily and weekly training programmes appropriate to each course and specialisation.

View Engineering Trades →

From the Commanding Officer's Desk

Commanding Officer's Message.

Captain SI Shuaibu

Commanding Officer, NDAS

Welcome to the Naval Dockyard Apprentice School (NDAS), Victoria Island, Lagos. Re-commissioned in May 2019, NDAS stands as a hub for technical skill acquisition within the Nigerian Navy. Our mandate is clear: to train and equip personnel with hands-on expertise in welding and fabrication, electrical/electronics and motor rewinding, plumbing and pipefitting, as well as woodwork and joinery.

Guided by the vision of the Chief of the Naval Staff, the School plays a vital role in producing skilled artisanal manpower for Naval Dockyard Limited (NDL), Naval Shipyard Limited (NSL), and the Fleet Support Groups (FSGs).

Our curriculum is structured across three progressive levels: the 6-month Basic Apprentice Course (BAC), the 9-month Intermediate Apprentice Course (IAC), and the one-year Advanced Apprentice Course (AAC). Since 2019, we have successfully graduated multiple cohorts and continue to expand the School's contribution to naval technical manpower development.

As the sixth Commanding Officer since recommissioning, my focus is to strengthen the School's digital footprint, improve welfare and safety standards, and enhance professional certification for both staff and Under Training Ratings (UTRs). At NDAS, we are committed to ensuring that every trainee receives world-class technical training that aligns with the operational needs of the Nigerian Navy.

With professionalism, teamwork, and integrity — the core values of the Nigerian Navy — as our compass, NDAS is proud to contribute to the growth of the Navy's technical manpower. We believe that technology is development, and we remain dedicated to contributing our quota to shaping the future of naval engineering through excellence in training.

Captain SI Shuaibu Sixth Commanding Officer · Naval Dockyard Apprentice School

Onward Together!

Leadership

Leadership Guiding NDAS Technical Training.

Vice Admiral I Abbas

Chief of the Naval Staff

Role

Chief of the Naval Staff

Provides strategic direction for Nigerian Navy capability development and the renewal of technical manpower for fleet support, dockyard work, and maritime operations.

Vice Admiral I Abbas

Rear Admiral NF Damtong

Chief of Naval Engineering

Role

Chief of Naval Engineering

Guides engineering policy, standards, and technical capability priorities that shape NDAS training relevance across naval maintenance and repair needs.

Rear Admiral NF Damtong

NDAS

Rear Admiral IE Shehu

Admiral Superintendent NDL

Role

Admiral Superintendent NDL

Provides dockyard-level supervision and ensures NDAS remains aligned with the production, maintenance, safety, and manpower needs of Naval Dockyard Limited.

Rear Admiral IE Shehu

Captain SI Shuaibu

Commanding Officer, NDAS

Role

Commanding Officer, NDAS

Leads NDAS day-to-day command, training delivery, discipline, welfare, safety standards, digital improvement, and professional certification efforts.

Captain SI Shuaibu

See Full Leadership Team & Past Commanding Officers

Admissions & Enquiries

Developing Technical Manpower for Naval and Maritime Support.

NDAS exists to train personnel whose practical skill can support maintenance, repair, and engineering readiness.

View Admissions Contact the School