The skills gap challenge

With higher unemployment not only in Africa but also across the globe, businesses still find it difficult to recruit persons with required skills in certain areas. This was revealed in a recent McKinsey survey of over 2800 employers across the globe.

The survey revealed that 4 out of 10 employers cannot find workers to fill entry-level positions in their firms. Specifically, more than one-third of respondents stated that their businesses were experiencing limitations because of the absence of appropriate skills.

Such striking revelations provide an insight into the nature and pattern of unemployment. Thus, analysts believe that the major issue in the 21st century labour market is the skills gap challenge.

With unemployment rate getting higher amongst youths, young graduates and school leavers, one way of closing the skills gap is certainly creating an educational system that provides the skills requirements of employers. This is critical especially in countries with a poor educational system. Africa has a great challenge here as half of the region’s population is less than 25 years. For a country like Nigeria where youth unemployment is estimated to be around 50%, the challenge of closing the skills gap is burdensome and must be done fast to avoid a misdirection of youthful energies.

But to properly take up the task of closing this skills gap that is fuelling unemployment, the educational institutions and employers must share a common understanding of the nature of the skills gap. The McKinsey survey showed that about 70 per cent of educational institutions surveyed said that their graduates were equipped to join the job market. More than half of the employers and even the graduates disagreed with this opinion.

To close the skills gap, educational institutions and employers must come together and see the task as a common burden and interact appropriately. Employers through different mechanisms should endaevour to communicate clearly their skills requirements to the educational institutions. And these institutions should equip their graduates with required skills. It is disturbing that the survey revealed that over one-third of employers surveyed never interact with educational institutions.

Globally, employers seem to be rising up to the challenge of the skills gap through certain pre-hiring schemes and arrangements with educational institutions, and even by setting up academies where young graduates are molded to suit the requirements of employers. But such efforts are still largely few, inadequate and not properly coordinated for sustainable impact.

Analysts believe that reliable data on required, available and absent skills are invaluable if closing the skills gap in any economy has to be done strategically. Relevant government agencies in collaboration with employers, sectoral trade groups and educational institutions are in a better position to assemble this data.

Tackling effectively the skills gap issue requires the understanding of the young persons themselves who must perceive education in its proper perspective. They have to take up the task of monitoring dynamics in the economy, labour market and in skills requirements. Young people should become pro-active in their educational pursuits, and access data that can make them take informed decisions. This attitude is largely required amongst many young ones in Nigeria who tend to drift with less knowledge of skills requirement whether in the local or global economy.

The cost of allowing the skills gap to continue to widen is huge on economy and society. Businesses, governments, educational institutions and young people must work together to close this skills gap.

BusinessDay