The Federal Government has said the country’s education system, over the years, produced graduates with no generic and essential skills needed for global opportunities and responsibilities.
It blamed the curricula used in teaching in schools, particularly at tertiary institutions, and students’ poor interest in marketable skills and other requirements of the workplace as largely responsible for the crisis.
Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who stated this at the National Technical and Vocational Education and Training Conference (TVET), Abuja, lamented the fact that many people were losing interest in TVET which could have devastating effect on the economy.
The conference sponsored by German government, SKYE and other stakeholders was meant to provide opportunity for all stakeholders within the TVET sector to jointly work on TVET reform process in order to provide better vocational education for the young people in Nigeria.
“The project has four components which are Technical College Intervention, Technical Teachers Training and Production, Informal Apprenticeship Training and Project Management, Coordination and Execution.
“Nigeria is still faced with the challenges of skills gaps, especially in the area of technical and vocational fields which need to be addressed adequately. These challenges did not come overnight, but as a result of long time neglect and poor management.”
Head of Programme, Skills Development for Youth Employment (SKYE), Hans Ludwig Bruns, said Nigeria is faced with tremendous challenges in terms of sustainable job creation and productivity.
He said: “the high number of unemployment and underemployment have become major socioeconomic challenges over the past decade. It’s connected to the issue of skills development, which is interlinked to the challenges of adjusting TVET policies, regulations, and implementation.”
