Concerns over Nigeria’s widening skills deficit dominated discussions in Abuja on Wednesday, as government officials and education experts called for an urgent overhaul of the country’s technical and vocational training system.
At a high-level session of the BEAR III Programme convened by the UNESCO, the Federal Ministry of Education Nigeria acknowledged that existing training frameworks are struggling to keep pace with the evolving demands of industry, particularly in agro-processing—a sector widely viewed as critical for job creation and economic diversification.
The Director of Technology and Science Education, Patricia Ogungbemi, delivered a stark assessment, warning that many graduates lack the practical competencies required in modern workplaces.
“There is a dangerous mismatch between what is taught and what is required. Machines are evolving, industries are advancing, but the workforce is not keeping up at the same speed,” she said.
Ogungbemi noted that while investments in infrastructure and technology have increased, human capacity development remains inadequate. She highlighted emerging trends such as automation, smart packaging, and sustainable production systems, stressing that many Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions have yet to integrate these into their curricula.
She described the ongoing Labour Market Analysis as an important diagnostic tool but cautioned that data alone would not address the structural challenges without decisive policy action and sustained funding.
“What we are confronting is not just a training issue—it is a structural challenge that affects productivity, competitiveness, and national growth,” she added.
The concerns come amid rising youth unemployment and growing dissatisfaction among employers, who argue that graduates are often not job-ready.
Participants at the forum warned that unless Nigeria reorients its education system towards hands-on, industry-driven training, key sectors such as agro-processing may struggle to absorb the expanding labour force.
Also speaking, Kano State Commissioner for Education, Ali Makoda, described work-based learning as a “non-negotiable pathway” to addressing the crisis. He said states are increasingly recognising that classroom-based instruction alone cannot tackle unemployment challenges.
“We must embed learning within the workplace. The future of education is not just in classrooms, but in factories, farms, and production lines,” he said.
Makoda disclosed that Kano State is strengthening partnerships with industry players to provide students with real-world experience and align training with national and global standards.
Despite these efforts, stakeholders identified persistent challenges, including inadequate funding, obsolete equipment, and weak collaboration between academia and industry. They also called for stronger private sector participation in curriculum design and apprenticeship programmes.
With support from international partners, including the Republic of Korea, the BEAR III initiative aims to drive reforms in skills development, particularly in agriculture-linked industries. However, observers noted that the programme’s success will depend largely on Nigeria’s ability to translate policy commitments into tangible, system-wide reforms.
As deliberations continue, stakeholders maintained that without a skilled workforce aligned to industry needs, Nigeria’s economic ambitions could remain elusive.
