As the Roman Historian, Plutarch
(AD 46-120?) had noted “The mind
is not a vessel to be filled but a
fire to be kindled.” Given their
corrupt and greedy lifestyles
Nigeria’s leaders do not seem to
care about integrity or moral
values.
They are good at predicting the
future without creating it. As Peter
Drucker has observed “If you want
to predict the future, create it.”
In Nigeria, the growing problem of
unemployment in the country has
contributed largely to the
worsening problem of poverty
among the populace.
Unemployment according to
Olaitan (1996) leads to frustration
and disillusionment which may
result in crime or drug abuse in a
futile attempt to escape from and
forget the pains and humiliation of
poverty and lack.
The problem of unemployment, he
further stated, has worsened as
millions of school leavers and
graduates of tertiary institutions
have not secured gainful
employment over the years.
Unemployment has posed a
serious problem not only to the
welfare of individuals but also to
that of their families. Many able
bodied and highly qualified
persons who could not secure
gainful employment have remained
economically dependent on their
parents. This is because they lack
the necessary occupational skills
to be self employed and to
effectively function in today’s
world of work. These occupational
skills can be provided by technical
and vocational education.
According to Abdulahi (1994)
technical education is that aspect
of education that involves the
acquisition of techniques and
application of the knowledge of the
science for the improvement of
man’s surrounding.
Technical and vocational
education prepares one for the
world of work with which the
individual become reliant and can
make contributions to the
development of the society. As
employers look for new talents
every year from new graduates, it
is important to not only have a
solid education but graduates that
have features that stand out from
the rest of the graduating
students.
With the economy being more
globalized than ever, it is
important to have a background
and a skill set that allows
graduates to become immersed in
the global economy right from
graduation (Cote, 2007). It is
important for these students or
graduates to have skills in
innovation in technology education
and entrepreneurship to be ready
to fit into the global market place
on which today’s economy
depends on. Entrepreneurial Skills
Needed by Technical and
Vocational Education.
Leadership is not a major cause of
Nigeria’s under-developed status.
Nigeria can become an economic
power-house (and realize its
visions) only if proper attention is
given to education and
technological development and
promotes and rewards creativity,
and channel its material and
human resources to productive
use.
The leaders must recognize the
relevance of technical and
vocational education in national
development and adopt and adapt
what works in developed nations.
The resources being wasted in the
on-going false re-branding
campaign should have been used
to re-brand the nation’s education
sector.
No amount of rhetoric (or fanciful
slogan) would solve Nigeria’s
socio-political and economic
problems. The leaders could
salvage Nigeria’s image by re-
branding their mentality and doing
the right thing: tackle corruption,
reform the electoral system and fix
the dilapidated institutions. Thus,
without a fundamental shift in
values, beliefs and thinking, and
without technological capability,
Nigeria will continue to dream of
becoming a ‘Great Nation’.
It cannot be overemphasized that
technical education is the engine
for economic growth. No nation
can fight a war without an army.
In the same token Nigeria cannot
develop without well-equipped
technical and vocational
institutions. In fact, it is the
missing link in Nigeria’s
development policies.
Because of poor training and
ineffective institutions Nigeria
suffers from low productivity. But
the progress of any society lies in
the productivity of its citizens.
Higher productivity gives a nation
advantage of economies of scale
and lowers the costs of production
and prices of goods and services.
Nigeria should begin now to take
very seriously investment in
education and skill training as no
nation can compete effectively in
the emerging global market place
with poorly educated and unskilled
workers. The leading factors of
production in the emerging global
economy are said to be
technology, knowledge, creativity
and innovation.
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