The widening skills gap in Nigeria has led to a paradoxical situation where there are numerous job vacancies alongside a surplus of jobseekers, many of whom lack the necessary skills and experience. As industries struggle to fulfill their employment needs, Nigeria’s educational system remains outdated. Efforts need to be made to improve vocational training and partnerships with industries to help bridge the skills gap and reduce unemployment.
In 2023, a manufacturing company in Lagos struggled to find two chemical ecologists, ultimately importing these skills from India after an extensive six-month search across local universities and polytechnics. This situation highlights a significant issue within Nigeria’s labor market, where many individuals are unable to secure employment due to a lack of essential industry-specific skills.
The 2025 Lagos Economic Development Update reveals a labor market paradox: an average of 2,837 job vacancies against 3,318 jobseekers. However, 26 percent of these jobseekers, totaling 816, lack both education and experience, decreasing the pool of qualified candidates to 2,502. This discrepancy has led to employers facing difficulty finding suitable candidates despite the overflow of job applications.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s unemployment rate was at 4.3 percent in the second quarter of 2024, down from 33.3 percent in 2021 due to new assessment methods. Conversely, experts assert that underemployment and informal work may obscure true unemployment figures. The World Bank estimates that in 2023, 23 million Nigerians, particularly youth, remained unemployed or underemployed.
A report from the Jobberman Foundation indicates that six out of ten graduates lack essential skills relevant to available job roles, with industries such as technology and renewable energy particularly affected by the shortfall of qualified professionals. This deficit forces companies to either recruit from abroad or allocate significant resources towards staff training.
Individuals like Michael Olaniyi, a 28-year-old Business Administration graduate, express their frustrations in job hunting. After applying for over 200 positions with minimal responses, he often hears he lacks required experience or technical skills, a common plight for many graduates whose education does not align with industry requirements.
The skills gap persists primarily because Nigeria’s university curriculum has seen little evolution over decades, emphasizing theory over practical skills. While some private institutions have begun offering more relevant programs, public universities fall short due to systemic issues. Many young Nigerians still believe that traditional degrees are the sole pathway to success, overlooking technical education which is in high demand across various industries.
Countries like Germany and China have successfully mitigated unemployment by enhancing technical education systems, an approach Nigeria needs to adopt. Furthermore, weak collaboration between the private sector and educational institutions perpetuates this issue as students graduate without the vital skills required by employers.
As stated by Aisha Bello, an education consultant, stronger partnerships between corporations and universities could facilitate valuable internships and training, though such collaborations remain insufficient. Many aspiring professionals are also deterred by the high costs of digital skills training programs, with standard coding boot camps in Nigeria priced between N200,000 and N1 million.
The widening skills gap could lead to dire consequences, as warned by Ofem Igot, an associate professor at Lagos State University. High youth unemployment is associated with crime, social unrest, and increased emigration as skilled professionals leave Nigeria for opportunities abroad. This brain drain exacerbates the domestic talent shortage as Nigeria risks falling behind in vital sectors like digital finance and green energy.
To address these challenges, Nigeria must undertake significant reforms in its education system, focusing on aligning it with industry demands by integrating practical, digital, and entrepreneurial training. Igot emphasizes the need to expand vocational and technical education and foster partnerships between educational institutions and industries.
While the challenges are considerable, promising initiatives are emerging, such as the Nigerian government’s National Digital Economy Policy, which aims to equip one million Nigerians with digital skills. Additionally, private sector efforts like Microsoft’s Africa Development Center and Google’s Digital Skills for Africa are making incremental strides. However, these initiatives still fall short of meeting the overwhelming demand for skilled labor, leaving many like Michael Olaniyi in pursuit of gainful employment.
With appropriate policies and collaborations, Nigeria has the potential to better prepare its workforce for future employment opportunities, thus narrowing the existing skills gap.
In conclusion, the widening skills gap in Nigeria is a pressing issue contributing to high unemployment among educated youth. Many job seekers are unable to meet the qualifications required by employers, leading to a paradox where vacancies exist, yet suitable candidates are scarce. Addressing this gap through educational reform and partnerships between industries and academic institutions is crucial to filling vacancies and enhancing economic development. Initiatives such as government policies and private sector training programs must be expanded to response effectively to the burgeoning demand for skilled labor in Nigeria.
Original Source: businessday.ng
