Stakeholders at the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Summit have called for urgent reforms to address Nigeria’s widening skills gap.

The group cited a mismatch between available skills and industry demand as the country aims to reach a $1 trillion economy.

Nigeria’s labour market still faces significant structural issues, with many workers in informal, insecure jobs. Additionally, many young people struggle to transition from education to stable employment. Summit participants highlighted that the ongoing gap between training programs and labour market needs has hindered productivity and economic development.

The deputy president of the association, Dr Michael Olawale-Cole, speaking on behalf of President Jani Ibrahim, characterised Nigeria’s skills gap as a fundamental economic issue.

He pointed out that despite Nigeria’s large and expanding youth population, a persistent mismatch persists between the skills available and industry’s needs. He added that a large part of the workforce is employed in informal, insecure jobs, often characterised by low productivity, instability, or limited opportunities for advancement, while many young Nigerians struggle to transition from education to meaningful employment.

He emphasised that current education and training systems do not adequately meet the needs of the real economy, resulting in graduates lacking essential practical and technical skills for today’s workforce. He argued that Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) is one of the most effective ways to tackle youth underemployment, boost livelihoods, and increase national productivity. Still, it needs to be reoriented to achieve a greater impact.

He emphasised that the private sector should lead in establishing occupational standards, supporting apprenticeship programs, developing curricula, and investing in skills training. Meanwhile, the government’s role is to ensure policy consistency and secure sustainable funding.

He also noted that achieving Nigeria’s goal of reaching a $1 trillion economy relies on a skilled workforce, with industry taking the lead in skill development.

He also highlighted shortages in essential trades like construction, where employers often can’t find skilled workers locally and occasionally look to neighbouring countries. He emphasised the importance of restoring local capacity. Additionally, he mentioned that NACCIMA collaborates with stakeholders, including international partners, to close these gaps through coordinated initiatives.

Chair of the NACCIMA Education Committee, Abdul Rasheed Na’Allah, said the challenge extends beyond policy formulation to implementation, coordination, and scale, stressing the need for a more coherent, industry-aligned system.

He noted that although frameworks such as the National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) and reforms by agencies such as NBTE and ITF provide a foundation, they have yet to translate into a system that delivers job-ready skills at scale.

Na’Allah emphasised the need to shift from fragmented interventions to a demand-driven approach in which qualifications reflect competency, training aligns with labour market needs, and graduates possess practical, employable skills. He said NACCIMA and the Organised Private Sector (OPS) must serve as institutional anchors for employer coordination, including structured input into curriculum design, participation in apprenticeship training, and validation of certification systems.
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He added that strengthening collaboration across government, industry, training institutions and development partners would be critical to scaling impact, particularly as emerging sectors continue to reshape skills demand.

On his part, Adesoji Adesugba said Nigeria’s skills challenge reflects a deeper failure of system alignment, noting that although education institutions, training systems and employers exist, they are not effectively connected. He stressed that this disconnect continues to limit graduates’ ability to meet labour market needs, as employers seek practical competencies that are often lacking. According to him, the current system remains largely supply-driven, with curricula and training not sufficiently shaped by real-time industry demand.
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Adesugba argued that addressing the gap requires institutionalised employer coordination, with industry playing a central role in defining skills requirements, shaping training systems and driving implementation, adding that without this structural alignment, efforts to reform skills development would remain ineffective.
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Speaking on behalf of development partners, Programme Manager, Skill Development for Youth Employment (SKYE), Britta Van Erckelens said effective TVET systems depend on strong collaboration between the OPS and government, noting that skills development cannot be driven by public institutions alone.
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She emphasised that the OPS plays a central role in identifying current and future skills needs, adding that industry participation in training helps improve productivity, reduce recruitment challenges and ensure that skills align with business demands, while partnerships are essential to building a resilient and competitive economy.
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Director, Business, Entrepreneurship, Skills and Technology Centre, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dr. Tinuke Temitope, said the summit was organised to bring private sector stakeholders together with regulatory bodies in technical and vocational education and training to address challenges around curriculum development, certification, industrial activation and job placement.
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She said the focus is on solutions, emphasising the role of the private sector in supporting, advocating and ensuring effective implementation of skills development initiatives.
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With Nigeria’s population continuing to grow rapidly and millions of young people entering the labour market annually, stakeholders warned that failure to act decisively could deepen unemployment and limit economic potential.
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While the summit produced strong calls for collaboration and reform, the focus now shifts to implementation, as stakeholders acknowledged that previous efforts to align skills development with industry demand have often struggled to move beyond policy discussions.