As technology and emerging industries rapidly reshape the labour market, Nigerian universities continue to produce graduates whose academic training does not always translate into the practical skills employers require. The widening disconnect between university curricula and workplace demands is leaving graduates struggling to find relevant employment, while employers are increasingly forced to provide additional training. With countries such as China aggressively reshaping university programmes around emerging economic needs, MOYOSORE SALAMI examines what Nigeria can learn and what is already being done to close the gap.

Many Nigerian graduates obtaining a university degree are expected to provide a pathway into employment. But as the labour market changes and employers demand new and practical skills, some graduates are finding that their academic qualifications alone are not enough to secure the opportunities they expected.

The gap between university education and the workplace has left some graduates seeking additional training, taking jobs unrelated to their fields of study or spending months searching for employment.

Oluwatimilehin Sotonade, a Political Science graduate, had expected her university education to prepare her for a career in non-governmental organisations, development organisations, government-related institutions and possibly the military. She also believed her degree would give her a strong foundation to secure employment after graduation.

But when she began searching for work, the reality was different. Sotonade told The Guardian that finding employment was more difficult than she had expected, as many of the opportunities she encountered either required experience she did not have or appeared to favour people with connections. She also found limited opportunities directly related to what she had studied.

Her search for employment also exposed skills she needed but had not adequately acquired during her university education. She realised that employers required practical and digital competencies, including administrative skills, communication, customer service and proficiency in Microsoft Office.

“I realised I needed several practical and digital skills, including administrative, communication, customer service, Microsoft Office, and other workplace-related skills. These were not adequately covered in my university education,” she said.

To improve her chances of securing better opportunities, Sotonade began taking additional courses and training to develop the skills she lacked. While some of the courses were free, others required her to spend her own money, which she considered necessary to improve her chances of getting better employment.

Now working in a bank, she said the job helps her make ends meet, although it is not what she really wants to do.

Her experience has, however, changed her perception of what a university education should provide, particularly as she has had to acquire additional skills after graduation to remain competitive in the labour market.

“My experience has made me realise that a university degree alone is not enough; universities also need to equip students with practical, digital and industry-relevant skills that match the changing labour market,” she said.

Similarly, a Mechanical Engineering graduate, David Eze, did not end up pursuing a conventional career in engineering after leaving university. He is now working as a product designer, a field that requires a different set of skills from those he formally acquired in the university.

He disclosed that moving into product design required him to learn skills outside his university curriculum, particularly around design processes, digital tools and understanding users’ needs. Although his engineering background has remained useful in developing his analytical and problem-solving abilities, he had to acquire the specialised knowledge required for product design separately.

According to him, the transition was not necessarily a rejection of his university education, but an indication of how graduates increasingly have to adapt their skills to opportunities emerging outside their original disciplines.

“I studied Mechanical Engineering, but I eventually moved into product design. I had to learn a lot of things outside what I was taught in school because product design requires a different approach and different tools,” he said.

He said his experience has made him realise that universities need to give students opportunities to develop transferable and practical skills that can allow them to move into emerging careers, rather than preparing them only for traditional jobs associated with their degrees.

Blessing Nwosu, a graduate of Biochemistry, found herself moving into digital marketing after graduation, despite having spent years preparing for a career in the sciences.

She said her university education gave her a strong academic foundation, but the jobs she encountered after graduation required competencies that were not part of her undergraduate training. Rather than remain unemployed while waiting for an opportunity in her field, she began learning digital marketing, content creation, social media management and basic analytics.

Nwosu said the transition was initially difficult because she had to learn how to use digital tools and understand how businesses communicate with customers, while also building a portfolio to demonstrate what she could do.

“I did not study anything related to marketing in school, so I had to start learning from the beginning. What I studied is still useful because it taught me how to research, analyse information and pay attention to details, but I needed another set of skills to enter the field I eventually chose,” she said.

She eventually began taking on communications and marketing projects, which provided practical experience and helped her establish a career outside the discipline she studied.

Recent evidence suggests that the challenge extends beyond the number of jobs available. A World Bank analysis of Nigeria’s labour market found that only about one in 10 workers occupies managerial, professional, technical or clerical positions requiring advanced skills. Even among Nigerians with post-secondary education, more than half were unable to secure such jobs, pointing either to a mismatch between the skills acquired through higher education and employer requirements, or to a shortage of high-skilled positions in the economy.

The mismatch is also reflected in the wider labour market. A 2026 report by Proten International found that nearly 60 per cent of employers surveyed considered Nigerian graduates inadequately prepared for their roles, while more than 55 per cent of graduates were working in fields unrelated to their academic backgrounds. The report identified gaps in communication, technical and digital skills among the concerns raised by employers.

The figures come against a labour market where simply being classified as employed does not necessarily mean a graduate has found productive or suitable work. Nigeria’s current labour statistics count people as employed when they have worked for at least one hour during the reference period, a measure that captures the country’s large informal economy but does not necessarily show whether workers are in jobs that match their qualifications or provide adequate incomes.

The World Bank has similarly identified a skills mismatch as one of the challenges confronting young Africans, noting that curricula can evolve more slowly than economies and that universities have not always been designed with employers sufficiently involved in the process. It also points to an experience gap, where young people are expected to have workplace experience before they have had the opportunity to acquire it.

The consequences extend beyond individual graduates. The World Bank’s 2026 Human Capital Index Plus report found that deficits in health, education and workforce skills are costing the country the equivalent of 111 per cent of future labour earnings. Nigeria’s education pillar score was 64, compared with a median of 88 among lower-middle-income countries, while its tertiary education completion rate stood at 11.3 per cent.

The problem, therefore, may not be solved simply by producing more graduates. As the economy changes, universities are increasingly being asked to prepare students not only for existing professions but also for industries and occupations that are emerging around technology, digital services, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing and other areas.

The World Bank’s analysis of online job vacancies in Nigeria also pointed to changing demand for skills, providing evidence that employers are seeking capabilities that education and training systems need to track more closely.

The National Universities Commission (NUC), which regulates university education in Nigeria, has in recent years taken steps to make university programmes more responsive to changes in the economy and the labour market. The commission began the process of replacing the old Benchmark Minimum Academic Standards (BMAS) with the Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS), which was unveiled in December 2022.

The new curriculum framework was designed to strengthen the relevance of university education and equip graduates with skills considered necessary for the changing world of work. Under the CCMAS, universities are expected to implement 70 per cent of the prescribed curriculum, while the remaining 30 per cent is left to individual institutions to develop according to their peculiarities and areas of strength.

The commission has also continued to introduce new programmes under the framework. In 2025, NUC said 879 new programmes were introduced in Nigerian universities based on the CCMAS. It also disclosed that it was assessing Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), university-industry linkage offices and entrepreneurship development centres, while conducting labour-market surveys to identify the skills required by industry.

NUC’s interventions also extend to entrepreneurship and emerging areas of knowledge. The commission has advocated the integration of entrepreneurship education into university programmes, while partnerships with industry organisations have focused on areas including innovation, digital skills, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and entrepreneurship.

However, evidence from the commission’s own accreditation exercises shows that the existence of a revised curriculum does not necessarily translate into uniform practical skills acquisition across universities.

An accreditation report on the Statistics programme at the University of Uyo, following a visitation in December 2024, found that practical exercises did not adequately cover the curriculum and rated the acquisition of relevant hard and soft skills as average. Another accreditation report on Economics at the University of Ilesa noted that while students demonstrated entrepreneurship skills, they lacked soft skills in Economics.

These findings come against the experiences of graduates such as Sotonade, Eze and Nwosu, who acquired additional competencies after leaving university to move into or compete for jobs in fields different from their undergraduate training.

The situation also places attention on what happens between the development of a national curriculum framework and its implementation within individual universities. While the CCMAS provides institutions with room to introduce courses and content suited to their environment, the quality of practical exposure, industry engagement, digital training and other workplace competencies can still vary from one institution to another.

NUC’s own framework recommends periodic review of academic programmes, with universities expected to review programmes at least once every five years. The continuing need for graduates to acquire skills outside their degree programmes, however, shows that curriculum relevance also depends on how quickly universities translate such reviews into what students learn and practise before graduation.

Education expert, Michael Adebayo said many Nigerian university curricula had not kept pace with the rapidly changing demands of the labour market.

Adebayo who is also the Managing Director/CEO, Oredian Education Resources Limited, noted that several programmes remained heavily theoretical and were still built around conventional disciplines, while employers increasingly required digital competence, innovation, problem-solving and practical industry skills.

He said Nigerian universities needed to embrace what he described as “new-age courses” that respond directly to emerging sectors and future workforce demands.

In the areas where the gap between university training and employer expectations was most visible, he identified Information Technology, Engineering and the Medical Sciences.

Adebayo said employers increasingly required graduates who could apply knowledge practically, work with modern technologies, analyse problems and adapt quickly to changing professional environments. He therefore called for stronger practical training, digital skills, laboratory exposure and industry-based learning.

He also identified inadequate research capacity, limited funding, weak university-industry linkages and irregular academic calendars as some of the factors making it difficult for universities to update their curricula as industries and technology evolve.

“Without sustained investment in research and innovation, universities find it difficult to anticipate emerging trends and continuously revise their programmes,” he said.

On strengthening the relationship between universities and employers, he advocated stronger and more structured university-industry collaboration, similar to practices in many developed economies.

He said universities should work directly with industries when designing and reviewing curricula, while programmes should incorporate internships, practical projects, industrial attachments and real-world problem-solving.

“This will produce graduates who are not only academically qualified but also practically competent and work-ready,” he said.

He listed major lessons for universities and policymakers to include proactiveness, industry relevance and futuristic education.

He said universities needed to anticipate rather than simply respond to changes in the labour market, while policymakers should encourage flexible curricula, investment in research and technology, innovation-driven education and stronger collaboration between academia and industry.

“The objective should be to produce graduates who are prepared not merely for today’s jobs, but for the opportunities and challenges of tomorrow,” he said.

Over the past 12 years, China added about 21,000 undergraduate programmes while discontinuing or suspending about 12,000 that were considered no longer aligned with socioeconomic development needs, according to the country’s Ministry of Education. In 2024 alone, 1,673 new programmes regarded as urgently needed for national strategies were established, while 1,670 were discontinued.

The restructuring has also involved programmes linked to artificial intelligence, intelligent manufacturing, data science, robotics and other emerging areas.

China’s Ministry of Education said the adjustment was intended to make higher education respond more quickly to national strategies, technological development and market demand. Its system now includes an annual mechanism for updating the undergraduate programme directory, while universities are encouraged to conduct talent-demand forecasting before establishing programmes.

The approach was further demonstrated in the 2024 review, when 1,839 new undergraduate programmes were approved, 1,428 programmes were cancelled and 2,220 stopped admitting students. The new programme catalogue included areas such as carbon neutrality science and engineering, marine science and technology, intelligent molecular engineering, medical device engineering and several AI-related programmes.

The adjustment of programmes has therefore become part of a wider attempt to match the supply of university-trained workers with changing economic priorities.

Nigeria’s own reforms through the CCMAS and the introduction of new programmes reflect a similar recognition that university education cannot remain static as industries change. The difference is also visible in the scale and regularity with which China reviews programmes that no longer correspond with its economic and technological priorities.

Curriculum gaps and the need for change
Chairman of the Editorial Board of The Guardian and former Vice-Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Wale Omole, said curriculum development had been a major part of his experience in academia, having worked on curricula from his time as a head of department and dean to his tenure as vice-chancellor.

Reflecting on his experience, Omole said Nigerian universities were not doing enough to ensure that their curricula remained responsive to changing needs.

He recalled that during his tenure as vice-chancellor, efforts were made to develop new curricula for the university, alongside investments aimed at improving the institution’s capacity, including the establishment of a computer centre.

According to him, the experience reinforced the importance of continuously reviewing what universities teach and how students are prepared for life beyond the classroom.

Omole stressed the importance of change in institutions adding that institutional development required people to look beyond individual interests and work towards the wider good of organisations.

He said universities needed people who were willing to contribute to institutional development and make sacrifices for the advancement of others, noting that a lack of such commitment could hinder organisational progress.

Omole noted further that curriculum should not be understood only in terms of academic courses or technical knowledge. He recalled that the education system he experienced as a young person incorporated practical activities, discipline, personal responsibility and lessons that prepared students for everyday life.

He said students were taught practical skills and responsibilities, including maintaining their environment, cooking and taking care of themselves, while lessons and stories were also used to teach values and encourage comprehension and critical thinking.

Omole argued that some of these practical elements of education had been lost and should be reconsidered as part of preparing young people for life and work.

He said education should not only be about academic qualifications but should also equip young people with practical knowledge and the ability to apply what they learn.

According to him, the curriculum should expose students to knowledge that is useful to their everyday lives and help them develop habits and competencies that remain valuable beyond school.

“Then what is most important is teaching them. So, when we are teaching them, they will love them,” he said.

Employers See A Different Gap
Chief Executive Officer, TradeStack, Ibrahim Lukman, said young graduates joining the organisation generally demonstrate intelligence, curiosity and willingness to learn, with many showing strong digital exposure and comfort with technology.

He, however, said there was often a significant gap between academic preparedness and workplace readiness, noting that the ability to pass examinations or understand theoretical concepts does not necessarily translate into solving real business problems, communicating professionally, taking ownership of tasks or working effectively within a team.

“One of the biggest gaps I have observed is discipline. Some young people need significant guidance around punctuality, consistency, accountability, attention to detail and following through on commitments. They sometimes expect very detailed instructions before taking initiative. There is also a growing mentorship gap. Interestingly, even with the rise of AI and easy access to information, young professionals still need human guidance. AI can give you an answer, but it does not teach you professional judgement, integrity, emotional intelligence, work ethic or how to navigate ambiguity. So I would say the talent is there, but workplace readiness still needs to be deliberately developed,” he said.

On where graduates require the most additional training, Lukman identified problem-solving, communication, discipline and ownership, alongside teamwork, project management, critical thinking, leadership, commercial awareness and professional ethics.

“The areas where I see the greatest need are not necessarily academic knowledge, but the practical competencies that allow someone to turn knowledge into value.

“The first is problem-solving. In the workplace, problems rarely come neatly packaged like examination questions. You have to understand the problem, ask the right questions, research, make assumptions, test solutions and take responsibility for the outcome.

“The second is communication. Young professionals need to learn how to write professional emails, communicate with colleagues and clients, present ideas clearly, document their work and ask for help appropriately.

“Third is discipline and ownership. We have to teach people that being given a task means being responsible for the outcome, not simply completing an instruction. There is a difference between activity and productivity,” he said.

He added that AI literacy was increasingly important, but said young professionals needed to understand how to use artificial intelligence as a productivity and reasoning tool without allowing it to replace their own thinking.

“And increasingly, they need AI literacy. I don’t mean simply knowing how to prompt ChatGPT. They need to understand how to use AI as a productivity and reasoning tool without allowing it to replace their own thinking. The danger is creating a generation that can generate answers very quickly but cannot independently determine whether those answers are correct,” he said.

Lukman said the nature of work had also changed rapidly, particularly in technology, fintech and digital businesses, where traditional professional roles increasingly require knowledge across different disciplines.

“The biggest change has been the speed at which technology is changing the nature of work. In technology, fintech and digital businesses, for example, you can no longer look at a role purely from a traditional professional perspective. A product manager needs to understand technology, data, customer behaviour and increasingly AI. A developer needs to understand security, business requirements and user experience. A designer needs to understand product strategy and user psychology.

“AI has accelerated this significantly. Some tasks that previously required hours of manual work can now be completed in minutes. This means the value of an employee is increasingly determined by their ability to think, make good decisions, solve problems and use technology effectively rather than simply perform repetitive tasks.

“We are moving from a world where access to information was the advantage to a world where the ability to interpret information, apply it and make sound decisions is the advantage.

“For young professionals, therefore, adaptability has become one of the most important skills. What you learn today may change significantly within a few years, so the ability to continuously learn is now almost as important as the qualification you hold,” he said.

On whether universities were keeping pace with those changes, Lukman acknowledged some progress but said the speed of change in industry remained significantly faster than the pace at which academic curricula were usually updated.

“There has been progress, but I don’t think the change is happening fast enough. Universities still play an extremely important role in developing intellectual capacity and providing foundational knowledge. However, the speed at which industry is changing is significantly faster than the speed at which academic curricula are usually updated.

“There can be a considerable difference between learning what a concept means and learning how that concept is applied in a real organisation.”

For example, a student may learn economics, accounting, computer science, engineering or business management very well academically, but still have little exposure to how projects are actually executed, how teams operate, how customers behave, how businesses make money, how products are launched or how decisions are made under uncertainty.

“I don’t believe the solution is to make universities simply become vocational training centres. Universities should continue to teach fundamentals and develop intellectual capacity. But those fundamentals need to be connected much more deliberately to industry.

“Students should graduate with both knowledge and evidence that they can apply that knowledge,” he said.

Lukman called for a deeper and more structured relationship between universities and industry, particularly through internships, industry projects, guest lectures, mentorship and practical case studies.

“I would like to see a much deeper and more structured relationship between universities and industry. Internships should not be treated simply as a requirement students complete to obtain their degrees. They should become genuine bridges between academic learning and professional practice.

“Companies can contribute by providing internship placements, industry projects, guest lectures, mentorship and practical case studies. Universities, on the other hand, can engage employers when reviewing curricula and identifying the skills that students need to develop.

“I would also like to see more joint programmes where students work on real industry problems while still in school. A technology student, for example, should be able to work with a fintech company on a real product challenge. An economics student could analyse an actual market problem. A business student could work on a real go-to-market strategy.

“That creates a much healthier feedback loop: universities understand what industry needs, employers understand what students are being taught, and students graduate with a clearer understanding of where their knowledge fits in the real economy.

“Ultimately, universities produce knowledge and human capital, while industry provides an environment where that knowledge is tested and converted into economic value. The two should be much closer,” he said.

Giving an example from his experience with interns and corps members, Lukman said strong academic performance did not always prepare young people for open-ended workplace problems.

“One pattern I have observed repeatedly with interns and corps members is that someone can have very good academic results and still struggle when given an open-ended business problem.

“For instance, we may give a young person a task and explain the expected outcome without prescribing every step. The expectation is that they will research, ask questions, break the problem down, propose an approach and come back with something they can defend.

“Sometimes, instead, the first response is, ‘What exactly should I do?’ That moment reveals an important difference between academic and professional environments. In school, you are often given a defined question and expected to provide the correct answer. In business, you are frequently given a problem and expected to figure out what the right question is before you can even find the answer,” he said.

He also cited instances where young people used AI to complete assignments or produce documents without being able to explain the reasoning behind the output.

“This is why I believe mentorship is still extremely important. Young people don’t just need access to information; they need people who can challenge their thinking, expose them to professional standards and help them understand what good work actually looks like.

“For me, the goal of an internship should therefore go beyond teaching someone a technical skill. It should help them develop the discipline, judgement, confidence, communication and sense of responsibility required to become a professional,” he said.