Lack of skills has been identified as one of the major reasons of graduate unemployment in the country. In two separate fora, academics of various callings said there was the need for further skills development programmes for graduates in the country. Minister of State for Education, Professor Anthony Anwukah, at a tworetreat orgsanised by National Universities Commission (NUC), which ended on Wednesday in Abuja, said there was the need in the paradigm shift because the present university system has failed the industrial sector.
He stated categorically that there was the need for additional one year of study before graduation as many Nigerian graduates were not employable in view of their lack of skills. “Law students attend Law School for one year and medical students go for one year housemanship before they are allowed to practice fully. So, it will be necessary for other courses to also go through this process”, Anwukah said.
On the bases of this, he suggested that Lagos Business School could as serve as after school training point because the university system has failed to train employable graduates in the industries. Stressing, he said “the universities are training graduates who are not matching the needs of the industries, lamenting that the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) introduced some years ago to buttress skills development on students, has also failed the nation.
Non-skilled graduates, according to him, “is a challenge and it remains a problem in Nigeria University System (NUS)”, and called for concerted efforts to re-direct the drive at producing graduates in learning and character. Anwukah’s stance came just as the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), in collaboration with Nigeria Youth Chambers of Commerce (NYCC), were on Tuesday, launching the National Employability Skills Development and Internship Programme (NESDIP) in Lagos.
The skills training programme, according to NYCC chairman, Peter Ayim, would be conducted at NOUN study centres across the country because of accessibility and coverage. NOUN Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Human Resources, Professor Grace Jokthan had disclosed that in the first instance, there would a three week training, thereafter, it would be a three-month training. NESDIP major objectives, according NYCC, “is to build a critical mass of employable and work-ready human resources for national development, thereby reducing the escalating rate of unemployment” in the country.
Its training components, according to its manual, “are drawn from globally acknowledged 21st Century workplace skill designed to be thought provoking, participatory and interactive sessions delivered in a 21-day comprehensive learning activities and delivery modes”.
