Mohammed Asibelua, Equinox Group Ltd executive chairman, appreciates the benefits of vocational training in terms of reducing employment, broadening talent pools and boosting economies. This article will take a closer look at vocational training and its potential to help individuals find the right career for them and unlock to door to their chosen industry.
From the employee’s perspective, starting a new job is embarking on a new adventure. Whether they have just collected their high school diploma or are a seasoned professional seeking to change career, vocational training provides access to better jobs with higher earning potential, helping employees to live happier, more meaningful and more rewarding lives.
Although college is the traditional next step in a school leaver’s academic journey, vocational training offers an increasingly popular means of building a fulfilling, successful career. Trade schools present courses and programmes designed to prepare participants for a specific job, career and vocation, providing the hands-on learning necessary to establish themselves in their desired industry.
Individuals who enrol in vocational training benefit from opportunities to learn valuable marketable skills in a broad range of different industries, including sectors as diverse as carpentry, animation, automotive repair and graphic design. Today’s diverse landscape of vocational programmes cater to a variety of interests and aspirations. Irrespective of the student’s background or passion, they are virtually guaranteed to find an institution offering a course that inspires and excites them.
Trade schools accommodate students of all ages, from recent high school graduates to experienced professionals seeking to switch careers. The beauty of vocational training lies in its inclusivity, catering for individuals from all walks of life, including experienced workers keen to enhance their skillsets and young professionals just embarking on their career path.
In some instances, vocational training programmes are essential for those seeking to gain entry to their chosen profession. Whether the student seeks to establish themselves as a chef, welder or professional makeup artist, they need a proper educational background to hone the skills necessary to work safely and effectively.
A report from the United States Census Bureau reveals that 60% of Americans aged 25 plus do not hold a bachelor’s degree. Recognising that not everyone wants to go to college, trade schools offer an avenue for students to learn specific vocational skills, which is particularly important in higher-risk trades like manual labour and healthcare. Training provides students with time and space to learn essential skills – be it handling a welding torch or administering injections – as well as providing a safe environment to practice those skills.
In Nigeria today, unemployment remains a persistent challenge, particularly among the country’s burgeoning youth population. As the country grapples with an entrenched unemployment crisis, with a third of the country unemployed in 2021, vocational training is increasingly emerging as a crucial mechanism in terms of providing Nigerians with the practical skills required to gain employment.
Nigeria’s high unemployment rate poses multifaceted challenges, exacerbating poverty, economic underdevelopment and social instability. A fundamental issue contributing to the predicament is a mismatch between the evolving demands of industries and employers and the skills possessed by job seekers. While traditional educational institutions typically prioritise theoretical knowledge over practical skills, in reality this focus leaves many graduates ill equipped and ill prepared for multi-faceted demands of modern workforces. Vocational training offers a promising solution by enabling students to gain hands-on training and industry-relevant skills, presenting scope for Nigeria to harness its untapped potential, with game-changing implications in terms of socioeconomic development.
By tackling challenges hindering the effectiveness of vocational training in the country, including issues relating to infrastructure, funding, curriculum development and social perceptions, Nigeria can increase access, quality and relevance of training programs, reducing unemployment and spurring economic growth on an unprecedented scale.