Thursday, 28th March 2024
To guardian.ng
Search
Breaking News:

‘Quality of Nigerian graduates worsens over lack of practical skills’

By Matthew Ogune, Abuja
13 September 2019   |   3:02 am
Chief Executive of Learning Impact NG, Omagbitse Barrow, has expressed regrets about the low intellectual quality of new entrants into the Nigerian labour market due to lack of practical skills.

Omagbitse Barrow

Chief Executive of Learning Impact NG, Omagbitse Barrow, has expressed regrets about the low intellectual quality of new entrants into the Nigerian labour market due to lack of practical skills.

Barrow, who stated this in Abuja at the opening of the Bridge Project, noted that most of the nation’s education curricular and programmes focus too narrowly on assessments rather than on practice.He maintained that Nigerians were schooled in various subjects that prepare them only to take and pass examinations, but not enough attention was placed on the practical skills relating to their areas of specialisation.

“Even more importantly, broadening the scope of education to include the skills for life and success which are without a doubt more than the Maths, engineering, Science, Medicine and Law that our youth are scrambling to get degrees,” he added.

According to Barrow, this accounts for the reason why young people are unable to meet the criteria for the available few and far between jobs, adding that the spirit and skills for entrepreneurship and enterprise that should drive mid-career professionals to establish entrepreneurial ventures were non-existent.

He lamented that Nigerians have continued to wallow in the mediocrity of a rent economy with everyone waiting to secure jobs in the already over-bloated public service or end up as contractors to an increasingly corrupt government officials.

Barrow disclosed that the Be Better Foundation with support from Learning Impact NG and Learning Dimension Limited decided to put their money and energies together to implement the Bridge Project “to bridge the gap between the inadequacies of Nigeria’s educational system and the present and future workplace.” He explained that the five-month long programme would include classroom learning, real-life projects and learning activities to prepare 20 NYSC members to succeed in the workplace.

He added that the cohorts would learn a variety of work and life skills that would equip them not only to secure jobs and create their own businesses, but also to succeed in their chosen vocations and careers.He also disclosed that they would become part of an alumni network that would avail them mentoring and support from learning impact and learning dimensions and open up opportunities for continuous professional growth and development in their careers.

In this article

0 Comments