Over the years, Germany has enjoyed low youth unemployment and high skill levels. To achieve this milestone, the country ensured that not less than 50 percent of its school leavers underwent vocational training provided by companies that considered the dual education system the best way to get skilled staff.
According to the German’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research, “The country’s dual system of vocational education and training is highly recognised worldwide due to its combination of theory in the classroom and training in a real-life work environment.
“The dual system is firmly established in the German education system. The main characteristic of the dual system is a cooperation between mainly small and medium sized companies, on the one hand, and publicly funded vocational schools, on the other.”
In collaborating with companies, the German government ensures that trainees in the dual system spend part of each week at a school and the other part at a company, or they may spend longer periods at each place before alternating.
The German dual training usually lasts two to three-and-a-half years, but the system is designed in such a way that there is a close alliance between the federal government, the states, and companies to provide young people with training in nationally recognised occupations.
As a result, training, testing and certificates are standardised in all industries throughout the country. This ensures that all apprentices receive the same training regardless of region and company.
Moreover, employers have trust in these certificates as they provide evidence of what an individual knows and can do.
It is evident that education and the economy are intricately interlinked. Countries that desire to grow tweak their education to align with skill acquisition.
Experts believe that Nigeria can make the best of its new skills acquisition education system by taking a leaf from Germany and collaborating with industries in the implementation of the policy.
Experts speak
Jessica Osuere, a senior lecturer at the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), applauded the policy but urged the government to seek collaborations with companies to realise the set goals.
“You don’t just jump the gun and expect the policy to succeed. The government needs to collaborate with industries. As a nation, we have always had very laudable policies, but at the implementation level, we always get it wrong.
“We have had several reviews of the curriculum to include vocational skills, but how well did we fare in that regard? Most of our technical colleges are in moribund state today,” she said.
Read also: African stakeholders advocate vocational skills shift to enhance youth potential
Osuere decried the fact that in Nigeria, more attention is given to the conventional schools to the detriment of vocational and technical schools which should serve as skills hubs in the country.
She reiterated that a lot of preparation has to take place in this school to make the policy work, noting that it goes beyond announcing the good intentions of the government.
“That is putting the cart before the horse syndrome. We do the first thing last and the last thing first. You don’t start implementation without a survey, definition of goals, and design of the goal, among others,” she observed.
The 6-3-3-4 system of education, though a laudable policy, did not achieve the desired objectives due to some internal factors such as epileptic power supply, lack of adequate home grown technology, lack of adequate skilled manpower to see the students through vocational training, and corruption, among others.
Victor Brown, a teacher, said though the introduction of the new skills will help the country tackle youth unemployment, create more jobs, and foster entrepreneurship and self-employment, he foresees implementation hurdles.
“I foresee challenges of insufficiently trained instructors in various skill fields, inadequate tools, and infrastructure, among others.
“There is also the challenge of striking a balance between fundamental academic courses and career training, and ensuring cooperation for hands-on learning between educational institutions and businesses,” he said.
Nigeria’s Human Capital Index, as assessed by the World Bank, stood at 0.36, positioning it 168 out of 173 countries globally.
Weak human capital development in Nigeria has contributed to poor socioeconomic outcomes and widened disparity, especially in the education sector with insufficient qualified educators.
Both the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have disclosed that a minimum of 20 percent of teachers in public basic education institutions in Nigeria lack the necessary qualifications.
Kingsley Moghalu, the president of the Institute for Governance & Economic Transformation, speaking on the need for trained personnel, said that without a skilled workforce in areas such as plumbing, welding, electrical work, and automotive repair, Nigeria may struggle.
“Educated citizens must be skilled to be able to create individual livelihoods, community wealth, and national value chains and thus effectively contribute to the economic transformation and global competitiveness of the nation, especially in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” he said.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
