Skills acquisition is the ability to be trained on a particular task or function to become judiciously independent in business. It is pity seeing thousands of unemployed graduates roaming the streets looking for something to do as they are jobless.
This is giving many youth in different parts of the nation sleepless nights as many engage in heinous crimes such as robbery, kidnappings, cyber crimes among others to make money.
The only distinctive factor between educated and uneducated youths is knowledge application, and the only way one can apply his/her knowledge is through practical, because the practical aspect is what will make such a person better. Many of the graduates today have no capital to start up a business and that’s why they often get depressed and become criminals.
Today, knowledge is a not requisite factor considered in giving out jobs, even the nation’s industries and government ministries can’t accommodate the number of the unemployed youths in the country. It is evident that the highest number of unemployed youths found in the African continent is in Nigeria. The truth is that the major cause of unemployment among youths is lack of skills that will back up what they learned from their various institutions of learning.
The manpower is not there in the institutions talk less of the youth being productive; the entrepreneurship courses lack well trained lecturers that can deliver such training. Many entrepreneurship courses were introduced, such as graphic design, typing, hair dressing, electrical maintenance, computer literacy, fashion designing, cosmetology, and others, but the manpower for teaching these courses are not available in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.
So, one needs to acquire skills to stand firm and avoid engaging in illegal means of making money. Every serious human being need food, shelter and clothing to survive and the moment one of these things is missing one may suffer very much. However, lack of entrepreneurial skills is one of the major causes of corruption, bribery, robbery and killing, kidnapping, insurgency, conflicts as well as misunderstanding between government and its citizens.
Thus, many development programs were introduced to serve as an avenue of acquiring skills by various individuals. If government is serious in nurturing the youths on how to be creative in terms business, no youth in Nigeria will cry of being jobless. There are hard working and skillful people that can move the entire nation forward but due to financial inadequacy, they end of being jobless.
Such categories of people need to be helped by government and the various stakeholders to stand on their feet. For example, students often design viable inventions for science fairs that could be produced and marketed for profile, but the value that they create is never channeled into a business venture. Unfortunately, many of these students turn around and leave university without job options and opportunities.
Nigeria, we are reaping the bitter harvest of too many idle young hands which are not being channeled into projects to supply them with steady income and hope for the future. It is crucial for government, wealthy individuals, donor agencies as well as the private sector to promote entrepreneurship skilll acquisition initiatives to provide opportunities for our young people to escape the chains of poverty and crime.
Idris Sa’adu,
Department of Mass Communication,
University of Maiduguri