American Journal of Educational Research
ISSN (Print): 2327-6126 ISSN (Online): 2327-6150 Website: https://www.sciepub.com/journal/education Editor-in-chief: Ratko Pavlović
Open Access
Journal Browser
Go
American Journal of Educational Research. 2020, 8(3), 173-181
DOI: 10.12691/education-8-3-8
Open AccessArticle

Skills Mismatch and Dearth of Vocational Education in the Nigerian Labour Market: A Cog in the Wheels of National Development

Okeke Udoka Emmanuel1,

1Tianjin University, Tianjin, China

Pub. Date: March 27, 2020

Cite this paper:
Okeke Udoka Emmanuel. Skills Mismatch and Dearth of Vocational Education in the Nigerian Labour Market: A Cog in the Wheels of National Development. American Journal of Educational Research. 2020; 8(3):173-181. doi: 10.12691/education-8-3-8

Abstract

Nigeria’s struggles with maximizing her wealth of human and natural resources is well documented. However, while more pronounced obstacles such as corruption, inefficient leadership, civil wars, communal rifts, nepotism, tribalism, political violence, terrorism and bad financial policies have taken the credit; the decay of the educational sector and the subsequent mismatch between the educational outputs and the demands or reality of the Nigerian labour market has caused severe damage to the realization of the Nigerian dream. Generally, technical education and the training of the highly needed technicians suited to emerging jobs within Nigeria has encountered many challenges, and are further impeded by the adoption of archaic and conservative policies unattainable in today’s world; thereby resulting in issues like the disconnection of school curriculum from social needs, corruption in the educational development funds and a worrying indifference on teachers’ part. It is important to note that the Nigerian education policy stipulates technical education as a learning avenue devoted to the development of high-quality technical human resources, with its goal as building a talent pool for the advancement of the country’s economy by means of vocational education. However, these shortcomings due to the massive skill mismatches in the Nigerian labor market have led to a huge economic loophole in the nation’s economy. Particularly, this text believes that the root cause of this skill mismatch seemingly lies in the dearth and neglect of vocational education courses, and the continued lack of attention by the Nigerian government to this issue is undoubtedly one of the main causes of massive unemployment and poverty in Nigeria. These main causes plus the continued ridiculous amount of resources committed to reviving education in Nigeria makes it pertinent to study the end products of our educational institutions. Likewise, the important part of vocational education in Nigeria is missing from the national development strategy. Therefore, this paper aims to examine the problems, challenges and directions of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as an avenue of national development in Nigeria, with regards to its close relations to the Nigerian labor market, while proposing ways to improve TVET teaching according to the needs of the labor market.

Keywords:
vocational education and labor market skill mismatch skill mismatch measures

Creative CommonsThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]  Uwaifo, V. O., & Uwaifo, I. U. (2009). Training Technology and Vocational Education Teachers for the new 9-3-4 education system in Nigeria: Its problems and prospects. International NGO Journal, 4(4), pgs 160-166.
 
[2]  Nwobasi, P. A. (2011). The Roles of Technology and Vocational Education in Enhancing Entrepreneurial Skills in a Global Economy.
 
[3]  Pitan Oluyomi S., Adedeji S. O. Skills mismatch among university graduates in the Nigeria Labour market. University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria, 2012.
 
[4]  Okolocha, C.C. & Baba, E. I., (2016). The role of vocational and technical education (VTE) in Nigeria Democratic Dispensation, International Journal of Capacity Building in Education and Management (IJCBEM), Vol. 2, No 4, April, 2016. Pg 2.
 
[5]  Akpan A. A., Usoro S. H., Ibiritan S. K. (2013). The Evolution of Vocational Education in Nigeria and Its Role in National Development. Available at <http://www.globalacademicgroup.com/journals/the%20intuition/ The%20Evolution%20of%20Vocational%20Education%20in%20 Nigeria%20and%20Its%20Rol.pdf> Assessed 22/11/2019.
 
[6]  Okolocha, C.C. & Baba, E. I., 2016, The Role of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Nigeria Democratic Dispensation International Journal of Capacity Building in Education and Management (IJCBEM), Vol. 2, No 4, April, 2016. Pg13.
 
[7]  National Board for Technical Education. (2018). NBTE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR TBE UNEVOC COORDINATING CENTRE FOR WEST AFRICAN SUB-CLUSTER. Available at: https://net.nbte.gov.ng/nbte%20centre%20of%20excellence.
 
[8]  Akpan A. A., Usoro S. H., Ibiritan S. K. (2013). The Evolution of Vocational Education in Nigeria and Its Role in National Development. Pg 3 Available at <http://www.globalacademicgroup.com/journals/the%20intuition/ The%20Evolution%20of%20Vocational%20Education%20in%20 Nigeria%20and%20Its%20Rol.pdf> Assessed 22/11/2019.
 
[9]  National Board for Technical Education. (2018). About NBTE Available at: https://net.nbte.gov.ng/about%20us.
 
[10]  National Board for Technical Education (2018) Five-day Training Workshop on Usage of Basic Science Laboratory Equipment, and Quality Management System. Available at: <https://net.nbte.gov.ng/nbte%20NILST%20Training%20Workshop> Assessed on 2/11/2019.
 
[11]  Mike Morrison. (2019). Why fresh graduates are not ready for the world of work – yet. Available at <https://rapidbi.com/why-fresh-graduates-are-not-ready-for-the-world-of-work-yet/> Assessed on 2/10/2019.
 
[12]  For the tables and stats in this subchapter, See National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) Kaduna. (2017). Digest of Statistics of Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Institutions in Nigeria: 2014/2015 Volume 5. Available at https://net.nbte.gov.ng/sites/default/files/2018- 02/DIGEST%20OF%20TVET%20INSTITUTIONS%20STATISTICS%20IN%20NIGERIA%202014-15.pdf.
 
[13]  Ovbiagele A. O., (2015), Vocational Education for Socio-Economic and Technological Development of Nigeria. Global Journal of Interdisciplinary social sciences ISSN: 2319-8834 G.J.I.S.S., Vol. 4(4): Pages 15-18.
 
[14]  Akpan A. A., Usoro S. H., Ibiritan S. K. (2013). The Evolution of Vocational Education in Nigeria and Its Role in National Development. Available at <http://www.globalacademicgroup.com/journals/the%20intuition/ The%20Evolution%20of%20Vocational%20Education%20in%20 Nigeria%20and%20Its%20Rol.pdf> Pg. 5. Assessed 22/11/2019.
 
[15]  Okolocha, C.C. & Baba, E. I., 2016, The Role of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Nigeria Democratic Dispensation International Journal of Capacity Building in Education and Management (IJCBEM), Vol. 2, No 4, April, 2016. Website: http://www.rcmss.com. ISSN: 2350-2312 (Online) ISSN: 2346-7231 (Print) Pg13.
 
[16]  Ovbiagele A. O., (2015), Vocational Education for Socio-Economic and Technological Development of Nigeria. Global Journal of Interdisciplinary social sciences ISSN: 2319-8834 G.J.I.S.S., Vol. 4(4): Pages 15-18.
 
[17]  Okolocha, C.C. & Baba, E. I., 2016, The Role of Vocational and Technical Education (VTE) in Nigeria Democratic Dispensation International Journal of Capacity Building in Education and Management (IJCBEM), Vol. 2, No 4, April, 2016. Pg13.
 
[18]  Ovbiagele A. O., (2015), Vocational Education for Socio-Economic and Technological Development of Nigeria. Global Journal of Interdisciplinary social sciences ISSN: 2319-8834 G.J.I.S.S., Vol.4(4): Pages 15-18.