In Nigeria, and across much of Africa, the dream most parents hold for their children is clear. Go to university. Get a degree. Secure a white-collar job. It is a vision shaped by history, status, and the belief that formal education is the safest route out of poverty.
Yet across the country, and the continent more broadly, this promise is breaking down. Universities are overcrowded. Graduate unemployment is rising. Employers complain of skills gaps. And millions of young people are left finding their way through an uncertain transition from school to work, armed with certificates but little practical experience.
Some education systems approach this transition differently, treating entry into work as a process that combines learning with practice rather than something that begins only after university.
In countries where work-based learning is formally recognised, apprenticeships operate as a mainstream route into employment, sitting alongside university education as a respected pathway rather than an option reserved for those who fall behind. Young people train as engineers, digital specialists, technicians, healthcare workers, and creatives while earning, gaining qualifications and experience shaped by employers and regulated by the government. Parents accept it as a legitimate choice. The result is a workforce that blends academic knowledge with practical competence and an economy that does not rely solely on universities to produce employable citizens.
In reality, Africa already has apprenticeships, but mostly in informal forms. Tailors, mechanics, artisans, traders, and technicians have long passed skills from one generation to the next. These systems work, but they are often invisible, unregulated, underfunded, socially undervalued, and less respected.
So what is missing in our part of the world is not the concept of apprenticeship, but its recognition as economic infrastructure.
I must say that apprenticeships shorten the distance between learning and earning. They allow young people to acquire skills that are directly linked to labour market needs, while reducing the financial burden on families and the state.
For small and medium enterprises, apprenticeships are a way to build talent pipelines without importing skills or relying solely on graduates who may still require extensive retraining.
For governments, they offer a tool to tackle youth unemployment, support local industries, and spread opportunity beyond major cities and elite institutions.
For young people, apprenticeships provide dignity. They say in no small way that your abilities matter, even if your strengths are not purely academic.
The biggest obstacle I have seen is cultural. In many African societies, apprenticeship is still seen as a fallback option, something for those who “could not make it” academically. This perception persists even as graduates struggle to find work, and skilled tradespeople quietly sustain entire local economies.
Until apprenticeship is recognised as a choice rather than a consolation prize, it will remain underdeveloped. This requires a shift in how success is defined, one that places apprenticeship on equal footing with academic routes.
First, apprenticeship systems need formal recognition. Standards, progression routes, and certification matter. Informal training can be strengthened in this manner without being erased. Productivity, contribution, and competence must begin to count alongside certificates.
Second, employers must be brought into the centre of training design. Businesses can help shape curricula, thereby ensuring skills become relevant and not just theoretical.
Third, parents need reassurance. Clear pathways from apprenticeship to further education, entrepreneurship, or advanced training help families see these routes as futures, not dead ends.
Finally, governments and the private sector must invest. Apprenticeships cost money to run well, but the economic and social cost of idle youth is far higher.
One point is clear, and it is that education cannot be understood only as time spent in lecture halls if it is to serve Africa’s economic and social realities. Education, formal or informal, is ultimately about preparing young people to contribute meaningfully, economically, and socially.
The real question is no longer about informal education itself but about how learning connects to work in ways that are credible and respected. Africa’s demographic future makes this urgent. A growing youth population can become an asset or a liability, depending on whether societies invest early in turning learning into opportunity.
Adeola Eze is a writer, educator, researcher, and publisher dedicated to literacy, education, and the transformative power of communication. She is the co-founder of Jordan Hill Creative Writing & Reading Workshop, Jordan Hill Publishing, and Learning Unleashed Magazine.
