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As Nigeria grapples with rising unemployment and a widening gap between graduates’ skills and industry needs, experts emphasise the need for targeted-skills education to equip graduates with practical and in-demand skills that align with the evolving job market.
According to a World Bank report, one of the striking signs of failure of the skills development system in place is reflected in the inability of many educated Nigerians to find productive work, a problem that appears to be worsening.
Study shows that about 50 percent of all jobs requiring university education and 30 percent of all jobs requiring at least a polytechnic diploma also require computing and analytical skills.
Experts argue that Nigeria can upskill its workforce through targeted education by focusing on industry-academia partnerships, integrating practical, real-world learning into curricula, leveraging technology and e-learning platforms, investing in digital infrastructure, promoting vocational training and specialised fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), and fostering a culture of lifelong learning and continuous professional development.
Olajumoke Familoni, a professor of entrepreneurship/president of ICLED Business School, emphasised the need to bridge the gap between graduates and employability.
Familoni said that Nigeria needs a training system that transforms students into confident, skilled professionals who are prepared to compete in today’s global workforce and contribute solutions to Nigeria’s economic challenges.
Omowale Ogunrinde, founder of Field of Skills and Dream (FSD), said, “Nigerian youth waste years in universities paying so much for studies and graduate without jobs.
Read also: The 4.3% fiction: Why Nigeria’s unemployment numbers hide more than they reveal
We are a people who do not believe in skills acquisition; however, that’s what keeps everybody who is somebody in business.
Our youth need to get the type of skills industries need to be employable, and that is where tech-education comes in,” she said.
Christopher Itua, head of industrial services and development at the Institute for Industrial Technology (IIT), Maintenance Engineer, and Partner at Laborda Associates, said, “Nigeria needs to train graduates on skills and ethics to know how to do things well. Skill makes one employable; employers have jobs, but many employees have no skills to do the jobs.”
Rwanda, Ghana, Tunisia, and Lesotho lead African countries that have curbed graduates’ unemployment and unemployability with targeted education programmes.
In 2014, Rwanda adopted competency-based modular programmes with industry participation to ensure that training curricula were aligned with labour market needs to expand opportunities for the acquisition of quality, market-relevant skills in selected economic sectors.
Rwanda’s targeted education operated through policies that promote free, compulsory 12-year basic education, aiming for universal primary enrollment and improved quality through curriculum changes and teacher development.
The government strategically uses digital learning technologies such as laptops to foster computer literacy and has invested heavily in infrastructure and training for ICT skills.
Besides, Rwanda’s government focused on vocational education, equitable access for vulnerable children, and peace education to support post-conflict reconciliation and economic growth.
It ensured that faculty members gained hands-on experience through industry attachments, enhancing the relevance of instruction and improving programme delivery.
Not less than 80 percent of the beneficiaries who had participated in the short-term training under the ‘Rapid Response Training’ window found permanent jobs after completing their training.
Ghana embraced the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) initiative to tackle youth and graduate unemployment. The initiative tailored to give temporary employment to unemployed graduates while also improving their skills.
In 2024, 34,000 Ghanaian graduates got employed through the NABCO initiative. The beneficiaries were deployed in sectors such as education, health, agriculture, technology, governance, and digitisation.
The government provides training, equips work tools, and deploys graduates so that they gain practical experience, improving employability as they transition to more permanent roles.
Lesotho declared a state of emergency on youth unemployment through its Entrepreneurship and Seed‑Finance Projects.
The “Bacha Entrepreneurship Project” (BEP): supports young people, including graduates aged 21‑35, to submit business proposals, giving seed capital or “capital boost” + training and mentorship.
Lesotho’s youth unemployment rate was 35.3 percent in 2022, according to the World Bank, which is a decrease from the 2021 rate of 38.1 percent.
Consequently, in July 2025, the government took a drastic step to curb the surging unemployment, especially the youth unemployment which was as high as, nearing 50 percent according to report from Anadolu Ajansı.
How to make targeted education work in Nigeria
To make targeted education work in Nigeria, the government must collaborate with educators and communities in some crucial areas, such as investing in continuous teacher professional development and retraining, leveraging technology to bridge access gaps and deliver tailored learning, among others.
Besides, they say, the government must focus on student-centred learning and skills development, creating inclusive and supportive learning environments, and strengthening data systems for better resource allocation and monitoring.
