Don tasks youths to acquire vocational skills to support formal education

Don tasks youths to acquire vocational skills to support formal education

Vocation
By Ayodeji Alabi
Akure, March 11, 2020 (NAN) Prof. Banji Akintoye of History Department, Obafemi Awolowo University, has advised the youth in Nigeria to acquire vocational skills to support their formal education instead of seeking for jobs in foreign countries.
Akintoye gave the advice in Akure on Wednesday during the launch of Careeredge Institute, a centre for acquisition of vocational studies.
The theme of the event was “Vocational Education: The Missing Link In The Economic Development In Africa’’,
The don, who explained that Nigeria had invested in education more than any other country in the African continent, said “our educated youths do not have the skills to go and practice anything “.
According to him, Nigerians have become one of the most highly educated people in Africa and the world at large.
He, however, expressed concern that the quality of education had gone down “while the present governors are working to raise its quality”.
“Whether good or bad, almost all children go through the school experience which builds people and giants.
“We have not reached the point of inserting skills into formal education, which is why we are in trouble in the country today.
“Our young people are pouring out of universities without skills, it is not just that they are unemployed, but they are unemployable because they have no skill to do any job for anybody.
“Even for the available jobs in the country, we recruit people from outside because our youth don’t have the skills,” he said.
He, therefore, called on all government and stakeholders in the education sector to create more vocational centres to help the youth gain skills.
“It will be necessary for us to begin to find ways we can inculcate the services of an institute like Careeredge into high institutions in Nigeria.
“It is the way forward. That’s how Japan and China did it. Young people are being equipped with skills and they create business of the future for their country.
“If you don’t have a skill, it is very difficult to think of a business. Unfortunately, those running away from the country are those who have the resources to create skills like it happens in America and China,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Gbenga Esan, Administrator, CareerEdge Institute, Akure, said the goals and objectives were to develop the environment, and to encourage the youth and adults alike in acquiring vocational skills to help them improve their finances.
He explained that helping the youth to acquire the skills also translated to ridding the environment of deadly vices such as armed robbery and others.
“We also try to equip the curriculum of high school and higher educational schools such as polytechnics and universities.
“If most of the university graduates seeking for employment can easily do some things with skills, it keeps the body and mind engaged,” he said. (NAN)
AYO/MA/DCU
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Edited by Muftau Adediran/Donald Ugwu