Govt urged to standardise informal skills hubs to boost vocational education

Despite government’s efforts to establish and drive centres of vocational training, these centres have continued to underperform, while private informal skills hubs are thriving, innovating and delivering value.

People familiar with the matter say informal skills hubs such as those inLawanson in Surulere,Lagos, where refrigerators, microwave ovens and air conditioners are repaired; the Ladipo automedics complex, where cars of various complexities are fixed and the Computer Village in Ikeja, where complex information communication technology skills are deployed, could be developed into ultra-modern skills development centres with government support.
This would enhance standardisation because practitioners of the various trade skills would be registered and tracked. In addition, it would raise practitioners’ level of accountability, standard of living, social dignity and inclusive economic growth.
Ike Mowete, a professor of electrical-electronics engineering at the University of Lagos affirms, “I am amazed at what these guys do at the Computer Village. The sophistication of their problem solving processes and the devices they use are noteworthy. I believe a formalisation of what goes on there would radically transform its value-chain.”

Mowete said, “I think one way to proceed is to invite the Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN) to assess what is on ground, design a curriculum and then initiate a process of accreditation.”
Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the lack of standards in skills acquisition is already causing deficiencies with adverse impact on industry operations.
“In manufacturing, ICT application to manufacturing processes is increasing. There are new machines, technologies and processes, and in some cases there are no suitable technicians to take up these roles,” said Yusuf.
Yusuf added that “most artisans are brought in from neighbouring countries because those we have locally, lack the requisite formal structure to learn industry standards and would sometimes rather prefer to ride ‘okada’ than develop the necessary skills.”
Experts have suggested a new model of partnership among government, private companies, universities and organised civil society or trade unions, as is the backbone of Germany’s much touted vocational education model. The absence of such a partnership in Nigeria has stalled progress.
Germany’s vocational education programme is a dual system, whereby students learn in the classroom and also learn by doing. Typically, trainees attend vocational school one or two days per week, studying the theory and practice of their occupation, as well as economics and social studies, foreign languages, and other general subjects. They also do a working apprenticeship in their chosen field, where they receive about one-third of the salary of a trained skilled worker.
Otto Orondaam, executive director at the Education Hub and founder of Slum2School in Lagos, which aims to improve access to quality education, pointed out in a phone interview, that “the challenge has been based on stereotypes. We grew up in a society where parents valued white-collar jobs and the best way to get in was through the university. What we need is a mind-shift on the part of government, civil society and everyone. No parent wanted their children to become carpenters, auto-mechanics or photographers.
“This trend is changing but needs to be institutionalised. For instance, we now have young people, sometimes university graduates, who are makeover artists or photographers and are earning more than some of the coveted white-collar job-holders.
“On another level, we would need greater involvement of the private sector to drive this initiative. Private universities in partnership with private companies could blaze the trail,” Orondaam added.
Odu Oji Kennedy, department of Technical and Business Education, Delta State University, Abraka, highlighted some of the problems facing technical and vocational education in Nigeria.
Kennedy said, “The key problem is inadequate planning. For instance, the 6-3-3-4 system failed because experts were not involved in the planning procedure. Civil servants from ministries sat down and formulated policies without being mindful of the implementation.
“In contrast, Germany’s vocational education leverages a partnership of employers and unions, with government to do the matching and provide the necessary training.”
Kennedy added “the rising phenomenon of street hawking is traceable to growing skills deficit among the youth and the divide between ‘academic’ and ‘vocational’ curricula, based on an assumption that academic learning requires more “brain power” than vocational learning.”
Experts propose a formalisation of the informal apprenticeship structures already in existence, an adaptation of the German model. They say for instance, that the Computer Village in Ikeja, Lagos, an unplanned, unregulated technology market, has attracted thousands of entrepreneurs, who sell, repair, or swap technology devices such as smartphones and computers.
The technology hub employs over 50,000 youth. A number which John Oboro, an executive member of the Computer and Allied Products Dealers Association of Nigeria (CAPDAN) says, “there is no ministry in the government sector that has that kind of employment, unless they are ghost workers.” The Ministry of Communication Technology estimates the Village generates N 366 billion ($184 million) annually.
A rapid formalisation of this Village could give Nigeria a Silicon Valley-style ICT hub, boost employment generation significantly and contribute to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). According to an Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) report, informality in the long run does not eradicate poverty. Countries with higher per capita income have smaller informal sectors, while poorer countries have higher informal economy shares of total output.