British Council holds forum on skills gap

The British Council is organising a forum that will encourage debate and discussion on collective solutions to address how employability skills can be developed among Nigeria’s workforce.

The event is targeted at employers, educators, NGOs and others who are concerned about finding the right qualities in candidates when recruiting from the available workforce. The forum is intended for those who want to ensure that young Nigerians entering the workforce have the right skills and attributes to remain globally competitive, supporting economic growth and continuing to attract inward investment.

The roundtable will hold in Lagos on Tuesday, 14th October 2014. Research findings from a survey of circa 400 employers that have been undertaken during August 2014 will be launched at this event. Various contributors will give inputs and case studies – but the focus will be on collecting ideas from the floor and finding common areas of concern and synergies to ensure the right initiatives happen.

British Council recognises that Nigeria as an emerging economy is one of the few countries in the world that will have a growing population of young people of employable age in abundant supply.  These young people however need the right educational opportunities to enable them to make the maximum contribution to Nigeria’s economic growth and to take their place as citizens in a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria.

With particular interest in new growth sectors e.g. the creative industries, and ensuring young people have the right skills to find meaningful opportunities and employment, British Council will leverage its global experience and access to UK expertise to support this initiative, while working in partnership with those already active in this field and those concerned to see real change.   

KELECHI EWUZIE