‘Focus on skills acquisition to reduce unemployment’

To drive down the country’s rising youth unemployment figures, Pearson, the world’s largest education company, says it is imperative for the country to pay greater attention to the issue of skills acquisition in Nigerian schools.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) puts the rate of Nigeria’s unemployed between the ages of 15 and 24 at around 13 per cent, but this figure disguises a much higher figure of youth unemployment amongst women and the rural poor (as well as the high rate of underemployment of Nigerian youth).

Indeed, with over 11 million young people in the country out of work, youth unemployment presents one of the major challenges facing the President Mohammadu Buhari-led government.

Of the 167 million people in Nigeria, over half are between the ages of 15 and 34 years. This ‘youth bulge’ is seeing around 1.8 million young people entering the job market every year, placing increasing pressure on an already tight job market.

According to the Managing Director, Pearson Nigeria, Muhtar Bakare, since education and employment are inextricably linked,
improving education standards in Nigeria is fundamental to reversing the country’s rising youth unemployment.
“Nigeria’s unemployment challenges are vast and complex, and no one solution will fix the problems. However, research clearly shows that improving educational standards will be vital in any resolution to this crisis. Around half of those affected by unemployment in Nigeria do not have an education past primary school level. Even in other parts of the world where children have access to the highest standards of education, youth unemployment remains a huge issue (the global number of unemployed youth sits at 300-400 million). So what does this mean for children in Nigeria, where the primary school enrolment rate sits at just 66 per cent and educational attainment rates are low by international standards?”

While pointing out that the solution to this social malaise does not boil down to simply getting children into school and keeping them there, he added, “Young Nigerians, despite often being better educated than their parents, face diminished employment prospects. This is not just a result of structural problems in the labour market or a lack of available jobs.

He continued, “What we are seeing is a chronic mismatch between skills and employment opportunities – poor teaching standards and poor curricula have meant the Nigerian education system is not equipping young people with the skills and knowledge valued by employers. We need to rethink traditional education so that our schools, colleges and universities are providing learners with the attributes a modern workforce demands.”

Bakare stated that it was imperative for all Nigerians – not just those experiencing unemployment or underemployment – to address the rising youth unemployment challenge through improved skills education at all levels, adding that, “International experience has shown us that high rates of youth unemployment have far-reaching social, economic and political consequences at a national level. Providing our young people with a sufficient education that adequately prepares them for the workforce is vital to keeping this vast section of our population engaged and productive. Our future prosperity as a nation requires youth unemployment to be addressed urgently, and the best way we can do this is to improve learning standards and skill-based education throughout the country”.