Nigeria needs technically-skilled youth to launch startup revolution—Experts

As Nigeria continues to explore ways of wriggling out of recession, education and commerce experts say the country needs an army of technically-and vocationally-skilled young people to steer entrepreneurial revolution and bridge the town- gown gap.

According to the experts who spoke at a national workshop on vocational education organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) at Yaba College of Technology last Thursday, Africa’s most populous nation must pay more emphasis on technical and vocational education to produce the 21st Century skilled manpower, create start-up revolution and fill gaping skills gaps prevalent in manufacturing, construction, tourism and engineering sectors.

“In Nigeria, absence of technical education contributes to poverty and unemployment,” said Nike Akande, president, LCCI.

Akande, who was represented by Babatunde Paul Ruwase, LCCI’s deputy president, said technical education would reduce the speed at which Nigerians sought craftsmen and artisans from other West African countries while encouraging home-grown manpower that could take up such tasks.

Speaking with newsmen in his personal capacity, Babatunde Paul Ruwase said roadside mechanics and artisans were, once upon a time, required to receive training and trade tests, lamenting that this was no more happening.

“It’s a systemic failure. Some projects are going on now across the country and the government can ensure engineering students visit those sites to learn firsthand. This should be inbuilt into such contracts,” Ruwase said.

Nigeria’s demography is favourable to entrepreneurship, and science and technology as over 70 percent of the people are youth below the age of 40. The youth unemployment is over 50 percent, while the general unemployment rate is currently 12 percent. Ninety to 95 percent of Nigerians are below the employment age bracket of 64, which imply that unless jobs are created or people encouraged to take up entrepreneurship, the demography may become a curse, say experts.

Adamu Adamu, minister of education, said education in Nigeria today must be functional, structured to meet the demands for growth and development and purpose-driven towards the development of the individual and the nation.

“There should be regular curriculum review and development, as well as assessment and evaluation by regulating agencies and professional bodies, to ensure that minimum required standards in input and performance are met,” Adamu, who was represented by Margaret Kudirat Ladipo, rector of Yaba College of Technology, said.

Nigeria’s industries, ranging from manufacturing to construction, often seek manpower from across the continent and beyond, owing to poor skills in the labour market. Most lecturers in higher institutions are not conversant with modern trends, which worsen the situation in the labour market. Some vacancies have not been filled for over six months across industries, while many companies have resorted to hiring personnel from India, China, Japan and the United States.

Speaking to journalists in her personal capacity, Margaret Kudirat Ladipo said technical and vocational education could prevent waste of manpower through job creation, raise wage earning power, while enabling individuals to stand alone as entrepreneurs.

“We are training our students in skills and encouraging synergy between industry and classroom,” said the rector.

“By the time they are skilled, they will be self-reliant and employable. In Yabatech, we have been trying to bring industry to the classroom such that students are exposed to latest technologies,” she said.

According to her, the institution was already acquiring more equipment to improve its IT space.

“Right now, we have almost 2000 computers; we have interactive boards and we are trying to convert our classroom into smart classrooms. We also encourage the use of simulators to boost e-learning,” she said, adding that this would improve the quality of manpower coming out of the institution.

Joanna Maduka, chairperson, science, energy and technology at LCCI and president of Academy of Engineers, said vocational and technical education was important for job creation.

“We are not discouraging formal education. We are encouraging that, but in addition, we are prompting vocational and technical education so that our people could be self-employed or employed,” Maduka said.

Idiat Adebule, deputy governor of Lagos State, said the state was ready to support skills acquisition and entrepreneurship development. Adebule cited the N25 Billion Employment Trust Fund as a testament that Nigeria’s commercial nerve centre was always ready to develop young entrepreneurs and provide soft loans for them.

ODINAKA ANUDU