The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Federal Government and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) have called for a comprehensive digital transformation of Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system to equip young Nigerians with skills for employment, entrepreneurship and the emerging digital economy.
The stakeholders made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at a validation workshop on the National Strategy for the Digital Transformation of the TVET and Skills Development System in Nigeria.
The two-day workshop, holding from August 11 to 12 at the United Nations House, brought together government officials, regulators, TVET institutions, development partners, academia, industry players and other stakeholders to review and validate the proposed national strategy.
The Head of UNESCO Office and UNESCO Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Isaias Barreto da Rosa, said the rapid evolution of digital technologies, automation and artificial intelligence had fundamentally altered the world of work and the skills required by modern economies.
He stressed that Nigeria’s TVET system could no longer remain static, insisting that it must anticipate changes in the labour market rather than merely respond to them.
“TVET must anticipate change rather than simply react to it,” Barreto da Rosa said.
According to him, Nigeria’s TVET system has significant potential to improve youth employability and entrepreneurship, stimulate innovation and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
He, however, warned that the potential would remain largely untapped unless training institutions established a stronger link between the skills they impart, employers’ requirements and emerging economic opportunities.
The UNESCO representative described the proposed national strategy as an important roadmap but cautioned stakeholders against treating its validation as an end in itself.
“Our task is not simply to validate a document. It is to ensure that Nigeria has a Strategy that is relevant, realistic and capable of producing measurable results,” he said.
He identified poor connectivity, unreliable electricity, inadequate digital infrastructure and devices, limited digital competencies among teachers and learners, weak institutional coordination, financing challenges and poor alignment between training and labour-market needs as major obstacles to digital transformation.
Barreto da Rosa also warned that digitalisation must not worsen existing inequalities, stressing the need to ensure that learners from disadvantaged and low-income communities benefit from emerging technological opportunities.
He said the guiding principle of the transformation should be that digitalisation must serve people rather than technology itself.
“Technology is a means, not an end,” he added.
The UNESCO representative said the success of the strategy should therefore be measured not by the number of computers purchased or digital platforms created, but by whether young Nigerians acquire relevant skills, secure decent employment, become entrepreneurs and whether instructors and institutions are better equipped to respond to industry demands.
He called for stronger government leadership and coordination, improved teacher and trainer capacity, greater private-sector participation and deeper collaboration among development partners, academia and civil society.
He also challenged stakeholders to move from broad policy aspirations to concrete implementation by defining responsibilities, funding mechanisms, timelines and measurable performance indicators.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, described digital transformation of TVET as a national priority, saying the Federal Ministry of Education was implementing reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to modernise technical education and expand digital learning opportunities.
Alausa, who was represented by a director in the ministry, said the reforms included modernising training infrastructure, strengthening industry partnerships and equipping young Nigerians with digital, technical and entrepreneurial skills.
“For Nigeria, the digital transformation of TVET is not merely an aspiration; it is a national priority,” the minister said.
He noted that TVET remained critical to Africa’s industrialisation, innovation, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development, stressing that technical education must embrace digital technologies, modern teaching methods, data-driven governance and stronger industry partnerships.
The Director, Technology and Science Education Department of the ministry, Mrs Patricia Ogungbemi, said digital transformation had become essential to keeping technical institutions relevant.
She said government was already pursuing curriculum reforms, integrating digital technologies into teaching and learning, building instructors’ capacity, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship and strengthening partnerships with industry and development organisations.
The Executive Secretary of NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, declared that digital transformation was no longer optional for Nigeria’s technical education sector.
“For Nigeria, digital transformation is no longer an option; it is an imperative,” Bugaje said.
Represented by a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Education, Gbemisola Olaniyan, Bugaje said technologies such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, the Internet of Things, extended reality and learning analytics were already reshaping economies, workplaces and the acquisition and certification of skills.
He said Nigeria’s TVET system must evolve rapidly to prepare learners for the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions.
Bugaje disclosed that NBTE had deployed a Digital Quality Assurance system to improve regulatory efficiency and transparency, while also institutionalising Open, Distance and Flexible eLearning to expand access to technical education.
He further disclosed that the board had developed and unveiled a National Diploma curriculum in Artificial Intelligence to complement the existing Higher National Diploma programme in AI.
According to him, NBTE’s Centre of Excellence was also strengthening the digital competencies of TVET educators and supporting the development of AI-assisted Open Educational Resources.
He said the board was collaborating with strategic partners, including the Commonwealth of Learning, Cisco Networking Academy and Huawei ICT Academy, to accelerate innovation and digital transformation.
Bugaje, however, cautioned against reducing digital transformation to the mere acquisition of technology.
He said the focus must remain on transforming institutions, strengthening governance, developing educators, promoting innovation, expanding access and ensuring that Nigerian learners acquire the competencies required to compete in an increasingly digital economy.
The Secretary-General of the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM-UNESCO), Dr Lateef Olagunju, said the strategy could help tackle Nigeria’s skills gaps, youth unemployment and rapidly changing labour-market demands.
Olagunju said a digitally transformed TVET system would improve young people’s prospects for employment, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning while making technical training more responsive to industry requirements.
He stressed, however, that validation of the strategy must be followed by sustained implementation, investment and measurable results.
The convergence of views among UNESCO, the Federal Ministry of Education, NBTE and NATCOM-UNESCO underscores a growing consensus that Nigeria’s TVET sector requires a fundamental overhaul rather than incremental reforms.
The proposed transformation will require sustained investment in digital infrastructure, electricity and connectivity, curriculum modernisation, teacher training, financing, governance, digital quality assurance, industry partnerships and equitable access.
The immediate challenge, stakeholders said, is to translate the strategy into an actionable roadmap with clearly defined responsibilities, financing arrangements, implementation timelines and measurable outcomes.
Ultimately, the success of the initiative will be determined not by how many technologies Nigeria adopts, but by whether digital transformation produces better skills, stronger employment prospects, greater innovation and tangible economic opportunities for millions of young Nigerians.
