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From Bimbola Oyesola, Geneva,
As Nigeria continues to grow in population, with attendant unemployment, mostly from the younger generation, which forms more than half of the nation’s population, it has become more visible that acquiring practical, hands-on skills is an essential path to securing employment and achieving economic stability.
Stakeholders believe that traditional job roles are being reshaped, and vocational skills offer a gateway to opportunity, especially for youth and underserved communities.
Executive director of Enterprise, Growth and Opportunities (EGO) Foundation, Toluwase Olaniyan, describing this year as a year of skill acquisition, noted that the future belongs to those who have the skills to build in a world where industries are rapidly evolving.
He noted that the reality of today’s global economy rewards individuals who possess market-relevant skills across key sectors such as technology, agriculture, manufacturing, or creative industries, adding that the demand for skilled labour was soaring.
Yet, he said many young people remains unemployed, not because opportunities do not exist, but because of a mismatch between what employers need and the skills job seekers bring to the table.
On why vocational skills matter, Olaniyan stressed that vocational training equips individuals with the technical and practical expertise needed for specific trades or professions.
He said that, unlike traditional academic pathways, vocational training was tailored to meet real-world demands, empowering individuals to solve problems, create value, and deliver results in industries that form the backbone of the economy.
In the case of Nigeria and beyond, Olaniyan said that vocational skilling was not just an economic necessity but a tool for national transformation for countries like Nigeria.
Reflecting that Nigeria boasts a vibrant youth population with immense potential, he said youth unemployment remains a significant challenge.
“By focusing on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Nigeria could harness the demographic dividend to drive innovation, industrialisation, and entrepreneurship,” he said.
HR perspective
Addressing skills gaps and adapting to change can be daunting. Without the right strategies, teams risk burnout, disengagement and falling behind the demands of an ever-changing world of work.
But experts are of the view that organisations need to develop adaptable, skilled, and motivated employees.
Specifically, they said the expertise of a human resource or learning and development professional makes one uniquely positioned to lead the charge.
According to them, by assessing team strengths, identifying development needs, and enabling flexible working arrangements, they can create an environment that boosts engagement and productivity, ensuring organisations remain competitive and prepared for challenges that lie ahead.
Stakeholders expressed that by staying informed and proactive, HR could continue to build resilient, future-ready teams that thrive in an ever-changing world of work.
Senior Policy Adviser, Skills, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), Lizzie Crowley, said there is a growing recognition that essential skills are vital, with transferable skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem-solving that all workers need in modern workplaces.
According to her, these tools are fundamental to people working together effectively, as well as to how they engage with customers and other external stakeholders.
“These skills apply to all jobs, even though new technologies are changing some technical aspects of work. Previously, efforts to build these skills from education and into the workplace were hampered by the lack of a clear and common framework to define, measure, and assess these skills,” she said.
Noting that skills are not the same as qualifications, she said the two are often treated interchangeably.
She emphasised that skills are important for economic growth and prosperity.
Crowley stressed that the economic prosperity of a country depends on how many people are at work and how productive they are in the workplace.
She maintained that better use of skills available in the workforce, alongside increased investment in skills and training, has been shown to improve productivity.
She held that growth in productivity and prosperity builds the conditions for improvements in real earnings, creating a ‘virtuous’ cycle.
For organisations, she said, “skills are vital to meeting both current and future business demands.”
To be successful and competitive, she noted that businesses must ensure their talent management and succession planning take into consideration what skills need to be sourced, nurtured, developed, and retained now to create a successful and productive workforce of the future.
To tackle the underlying skills deficit, she explained that it was not enough to focus on initial education and training, adding that most of the future workforce is already in work.
Crowley charged employers to “understand the importance of investing in and improving the skill levels of employees, including learning ‘in the flow’ of work, in-house development programmes, and coaching.”
She added, “it was important that the activities are underpinned by a culture where learning is not only embedded but encouraged across every level of organisations.”
