The federal government has unveiled plans to establish a National Skills Database, as part of a broader strategy to tackle unemployment, bridge the widening gap between available skills and industry demand, and strengthen workforce planning through data-driven policymaking.

Unveiled yesterday at the second National Skills and Industry Alignment Roundtable Series held in Abuja, with the theme,
“The Role of Data in Job Creation, Coordination and Linkages,” the initiative comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with employment challenges despite recent improvements in the official labour market statistics.

The initiative, to be implemented through a proposed Nigerian Skills Observatory, is expected to provide government, employers, training institutions and investors with real-time information on the supply and demand of skills across the country, enabling better job matching and more targeted interventions.

In his keynote address, the Group Chief Economist and Managing Director of Research and Trade Intelligence at Afrexim Bank, Cairo, Dr Yemi Kale, said Nigeria’s biggest labour market challenge was no longer the absence of data but the inability to convert available information into actionable intelligence that connects workers with opportunities.

A former Statistician-General of the Federation, Kale observed that enormous volumes of information on education, skills development, employment, wages, and enterprise support already exist across government agencies, educational institutions, development partners and the private sector.

However, he lamented that the information remains fragmented across multiple databases and institutions, making it difficult for policymakers to obtain a complete picture of the labour market.

According to him, the resulting disconnect has created structural inefficiencies that suppress productivity, discourage investment, reduce competitiveness and prevent the country from fully harnessing its demographic advantage.

Kale further explained that labour market intelligence goes beyond simply collecting statistics, describing it as the systematic collection, interpretation and analysis of information that enables governments and businesses to anticipate future workforce needs and make informed decisions.

Noting that Nigeria graduates thousands of young people annually, he lamented that at the same time, employers across critical sectors continue to struggle to recruit suitably qualified workers, with millions remaining unemployed, underemployed or unable to find jobs that match their qualifications.

Also speaking on the proposed National Skills Database, the Special Assistant to the President on Workforce Development, Rimam Nuhu, said the platform would form the foundation of the Nigerian Skills Observatory being developed by the federal government.

According to him, the observatory will create a comprehensive database showing both the demand and supply of skills across different sectors of the economy, while the information generated will enable the government to formulate evidence-based policies capable of improving productivity and supporting sustainable job creation.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Coordination and Delivery, Akubo Adegbe, noted that government agencies, employers, training institutions and development partners generate huge volumes of data on employment, enterprise development and workforce outcomes every day.

This notwithstanding, the absence of coordination means that policymakers often lack a complete understanding of labour market realities, while employers struggle to communicate workforce needs and training institutions receive limited feedback on employment outcomes, Adegbe stated.

Also speaking, the Head of Cooperation at the European Union Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, said the European Union remains committed to supporting Nigeria’s efforts to build a labour market that responds effectively to the needs of investors.

He noted that while Nigeria possesses enormous human capital, major investment projects continue to experience shortages of skilled workers, adding that reliable labour market information has become increasingly important in investment decisions, migration management and workforce development.

Meanwhile, the President of Nigerian Skill Acquisition Union, Daniel Kolade, expressed optimism that the proposed database would enable government and industry players to identify critical shortages, channel young Nigerians into high-demand occupations, and support efforts to address the country’s housing deficit through a more organised skilled workforce.