Lack of relevant skills, cause of joblessness among university graduates

Apathy toward technical education leading to a lack of relevant skills has been blamed for joblessness among Nigeria’s university graduates.

According to the Chairman of the Construction Artisans Awards of Nigeria (CAA), Dr Samson Opaluwah, the reorganization of the education sector in 1977 shifted the attention of many Nigerian youths from skills acquisition, thereby prioritizing theoretical knowledge over practical-bases knowledge

While reiterating skill acquisition as a veritable source of wealth creation as well as a remedy for unemployment, he said: “to meet the developmental needs of the nation, all hands must be on deck towards reorienting the youths on the need to tow the part of skill and capacity development.”

Opaluwah stated this during the third edition of the annual CAA and Skills Expo, organized by the Construction  Skills Training and Empowerment Project Limited (C-STEMP) in Abuja.

He attributed the decline in technical education in Nigeria to what he described as “educational realignment”, following the introduction of a new education policy in the 1970s which according to him, posed negative effects on the development of technical skills in the country

“The moment technical institutions were seen as a secondary option for students, especially the ones below average, technical education lost its essence, thus rendering many university graduates today jobless as a result of lack of relevant skills”, he noted.

According to Opaluwah, as long as Nigerian youths continue to undermine the potency of skills acquisition, eradicating poverty in the country would seem like a mirage, thus, unrealizable.

“There is nothing like instant wealth, you create the wealth, and you cannot create wealth without working hard and one of the channels of working hard is utilizing your brainpower and human ability. A combination of these two will win any day”, he said.

He added that the structural alignment of institutions at the national level is not strong enough, with several organisations overlapping, or with unclear management.

While reiterating skill acquisition as a veritable source of wealth creation as well as a remedy for unemployment, he said: “To meet the developmental needs of the nation, all hands must be on deck towards reorienting the youths on the need to tow the part of skill and capacity development.

“Let skills be emphasized. It is the next oil for Nigeria. We have got the capacity to acquire skills. We have able-bodied and trainable people who can learn easily and grasp knowledge. We can even export these skills worldwide. If we are migrating skills, it will improve our economy.”

“To showcase excellence in artisanship, skills acquisition must gain more positive connotations as against the notion of many youths who perceive entrepreneurial skills as dirty jobs. Also, more artisans’ engagement is needed while also giving them due recognition”, Opaluwah stated.