Technical and vocational training: Nigeria on the path of industrial growth ahead 2020?

Vocational training and repairs

Countries that have embraced technical training have witnessed lower unemployment rate, ingenuity in technological inventions, economic autonomy, and increased individual productivity. This is however lacking in Nigeria, even as it continues its quest of becoming one of the 20 leading economies by 2020, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA.

Technical and vocational education (TVE) has been an integral part of national development strategies in many countries following its impact on productivity and economic development. While technical education contributions are widespread and visible ranging from metalwork technology, mechanical/ automobile technology, electrical and electronic technology, building and woodwork technology etc, this form of education has become change agents not only for technical systems but several societal changes.

A close evaluation of public and private investment of TVE in European countries such as Germany, Sweden, Denmark, United Kingdom, etc. shows immense profitability and economic growth and returns. While literature on the economic benefits from technical and vocational training often cites growth, the impact of initial and continuous vocational training on labour-market outcomes reflects direct or indirect aggregate individual productivity effects.

Interestingly, outcomes of technical training by these countries also show higher participation in the labour market, lower unemployment, the opportunity to acquire a qualification for all categories which did not previously have one, and the chance to advance in a professional hierarchy. Meanwhile, through lifelong learning, individuals improve their work opportunities and qualification levels.

Not only that, higher remuneration has led to new opportunities in economic and social outputs, such as economic autonomy, and enhanced psychological wellbeing. These factors ultimately impact individual productivity.

In spite of the numerous contributions technical education play in developed economies including the ‘Asian Tigers’-China, Japan, and South Korea, this aspect of education has over the years been neglected by past administrations in Nigeria.

This neglect has robbed the nation of contributions of graduates to national development. While unemployment rate continue to soar, the principal aim of technical education has been to turn out skilled manpower needed for industrial and technological development.

While stakeholders in the education and technology sectors believe that no meaningful development could be achieved by a nation without sound and qualitative technical education, an oblivious reality of this gloomy picture is the dearth of skilled technicians such as brick layers, carpenters, auto mechanics, and electrical/electronic technicians, amongst others.

In view of these worrisome indices, calls have been made to the federal government to revamp and raise the standard of technical education by fixing its dilapidated structures, retraining its teachers and remunerating them as industry would, giving the institutions freedom to express themselves to their full potentials with constant update of their curriculum.

Commenting on the issue, Olu Aina, pioneer executive registrar of the National Business and Technical Examinations Board and Chairman, Osun State Technical Education disclosed that given immense scientific, technological and socio-economic development, either in progress or envisaged which characterises the present era, particularly globalisation and the revolution in information and communication technology, technical and vocational education should be a vital aspect of the education process of a nation.

Aina noted that while the globe is shifting its emphasis to massive expansion in the provision of education resulting in industrialisation and a measure of modernization, this shift has not translated to the desired modernisation in terms of economic indicators.

“A typical example is the case of Nigeria which had three successive development plans that recorded no appreciable results. Nigeria, despite stupendous wealth from oil revenue, identified manpower shortage in quality, quantity and mix is the albatross and it put the problem squarely on the door steps of education, and changed to 6-3-3-4 system of education.”

The administrator submitted that technical and vocational education should begin with a broad based approach which facilitates horizontal and vertical articulation within the education system and between school and the world of work, thus contributing to the elimination of all forms of discrimination.

Lending her view, Aderonke Aransiola, a student of Federal Polytechnic Bida, Niger State, hinted that the technical degrees are considered inferior to regular academic degrees in the country as against the current trend in advanced nations where those with technical degrees are highly regarded.  Aransiola noted that the nation must learn to blend theory and practical in her educational system as theories alone cannot serve any useful purpose.

“Rhetoric cannot make the country a super power. Speeches on transforming Nigeria into an industrialised nation will remain idle without the application of technical education being a major part of the strategy. Anybody who thinks that a country which lacks skilled technical manpower and wish to be transformed into an industrialised nation in less than 10 years must be living in a different planet. No society can become an industrialised nation without technological capability,” Aransiola opined.

Also reacting, Victor Uwaifo, Lecturer, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, opined that due to demand for technical education and existing high decadence in the infrastructure, little effect of the increase in funding could not be noticed substantially.

“Till date, Government funding of technical education programme has not been impressive as this is a reflection of the negligence of the government towards the programme. This is responsible for the gradual extinction of this programme from the various educational institutions in this country.

Most technical education departments in Nigeria Universities do not have laboratories or workshop space let alone usable equipment and facilities and where they exist, they are grossly inadequate, as the laboratories only have the items or equipment that were provided when the departments were established. It is however most surprising to know that most technical education departments still depends on engineering workshop and lecturers to teach technical education concepts in this 21st century.

The Nigerian situation

Since the neglect of technical education in the late 1980s, the quality and quantity of manpower produced in the country have been constrained by a number of factors. Among them is the over reliance on imported technology.

Igwe John, a technician who owns a store in Ikeja, Lagos attributed the low productivity of manpower in Nigeria to technological dependence. He observed that the nation’s march towards industrialization should not go for alternatives by importing package of such forms that require mere robot-like and routine operations as if this happens, the training system cannot but provide such caliber of manpower.

Lending his view, Victor Uwaifo, lecturer, Department of Vocational and Technical Education, Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, hinted that staffing situations, curriculum of technical education, low level of funding and inadequate training facilities have affected technical education in the country.

While noting that qualified technical instructors and funding are becoming very scarce in training institutions, Uwaifo revealed that training institutions in the country is characteristic of depressed economies. He however pointed out that these institutions are hardly able to get enough instructors to be adequately funded and render facilities in a bid to keep pace with technological progress.

“Infrastructure in these institutions today reveals that some technical schools do not even have a defined workshop where students can practice what they learn practically. Some buildings have had their roofs removed, windows and doors pulled out, no desks for students to sit comfortably and learn.

“A critical assessment of technical colleges reveals that some machines supplied by the federal government in the past are still lying in crates (in some cases outside) for lack of workshops to install them. Parts of these machines have depreciated while others have disappeared over night or are converted to personal use.” In some cases, few machines available have become obsolete or have broken down due to lack of maintenance. Facilities that are functioning have no electricity to power them” Uwaifo revealed.

Uwaifo added that low pace of industrialization and technological growth in the country can be traced to widening gap between Science and Technology as a result of inability of technical education programme to adequately utilize the scientific-ideas to promote technology.

“This suggests the need to overhaul technical education curricula in the Nigeria. The overhauling of the curricula may not necessarily translate to the production of highly literate technical education experts or ready-made graduates for the industry which may result in rapid industrialization or growth in the economy of a nation unless solutions are proffered to some constraints that may militate against positive outcomes, but will adequately equip our youths the relevant skills needed for their day to day living,” he concluded.

Echoing the sentiment of Uwaifo, Chukwuka Oham, a final year student in the Department of Electrical Electronics, Federal University of Technology, (FUTO) Owerri pointed out that the student industrial work experience scheme (SIWES) programme which was designed to familiarize trainees with the world of work is fast degenerating into a mere formality following poor coordination between industries and training institutions.

Oham who did his Industrial attachment at an Information Technology firm in Lagos stated that absence of information on knowledge and skills of differents occupation, technique of getting a suitable place for attachment and proper altitude toward work, co-worker, supervisors and adult world among others have added to the problem of technical training in the country.

Models of Technical training

 

While the need to link training to employment (either self or paid employment) remains the base of all the best practices and strategies observed worldwide, adaptability and life-long learning have become another major objective vocational and technical training have set out to achieve in view of rapid technological advances taking place in industry and the labour market in general.

Currently, millions of students join China’s workforce with a diploma of technical and vocational education and training (TVET) every year. With the industry said to be growing tremendously in China, the Ministry of Education recently revealed that the number of tertiary TVET institutes reached 1,184 and that of secondary TVET schools reached 14,767, enrolling 11 million students annually.  

Meanwhile, the World Bank worked with China to develop its vocational education for 20 years. Three projects from 1990 to 2005, with $110 million in loans, had benefited many. An additional two projects was launched recently which aims to improve the quality of education in 11 vocational and technical schools in Guangdong, Liaoning and Shandong Provinces. These provinces are part of China’s growth story – Guangdong is the engine behind the country’s export-led growth.

Shandong’s economy is the 2nd biggest, just after Guangdong, while Liaoning is one of the most important industrial bases and Yunnan is a strategic border province and the “bridge” between China and Southeast Asia.

For the past 30 years, China’s abundant supply of cheap labor has been driving the country’s economic boom. But the overall level of knowledge and skills of China’s labor force is relatively low. Only half of China’s 140 million employees of urban enterprises can be classified as ‘skilled’, according to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China.

While industries in China are shifting from low-skilled, labor-intensive to a more capital and skill-intensive pattern, the need for skilled workers is rising with investment in technical and vocational education and training said to fill the gap.

Aside this, some African countries are developing TVE as a vehicle for rapid industrialization, as well as economic empowerment and social mobility of individuals. A cursory look at this aspect of education show that formulation of a national policy and the establishment of a national implementation body, either as a semi-autonomous body or as an agency within a designated government ministry has led to effective vocational and technical training in these countries.

Such agencies or National Vocational Training Authorities have been established in many countries, including Botswana (Botswana Training Authority – BOTA), Mauritius (Industrial and Vocational Training Board – IVTB), Namibia (National Vocational Training Board – NVTB), Tanzania (Vocational Education Training Authority – VETA), and Zambia (Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority – TEVETA).

Recently, Ghana passed an Act of Parliament that establishes a Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) which will have overall responsibility for skills development in the country. The Council is expected to establish an Apprenticeship Training Board to link non-formal and informal vocational training to the formal TVET sector.

Outside Africa, two training models stand out: centralised Singaporean model and the dual system practiced in Germany. In Singapore, a National Manpower Council ensures that training is relevant to the needs of the labour market. Training includes the inculcation of shared cultural values and attitude development.

Furthermore, the dual system of vocational training in Germany allows for learning to take place in a vocational school and in an enterprise concurrently. Approximately, 70 percent of all school leavers, aged between 15 and 19 years undergo training under the dual system. The dual system promotes the linkage of vocational training to the world of work.

Addressing this impasse

The various national resource endowments of Nigeria, some of which are yet to be identified portend future greatness for the country. What is now needed is for an effective system of vocational technical education to be evolved so that manpower capable of exploring vast potentials of the land can be produced.

While the dearth of inadequate facilities for technical education in Nigeria has led to low level of advancement, low productivity, high level of unemployment, over-dependence on foreign nations for materials and human resources, over-dependence on few people working, and loss of national reputation, the nation’s quest to become the one of the twenty leading economies if nothing is done to revamp this sector.

No doubt, the route to manpower production, technological, industrial and economic development are effective vocational educational system, adequate manpower information, forging close ties between employers and training institutions, periodic appraisal of manpower needs assessment, improved social vocational technical education worker, and the need to over-haul, harmonize and centralize the administrative machine of vocational technical education, among others are sine qua non for manpower production in vocational education.

Austin Bayem, a production technology engineer, stated that the promotion of technical and vocational education and training for industrialisation, economic development, wealth creation and poverty eradication demands policies and strategies that address the cross-cutting issues of quality and relevance of training, employability, collaboration between training institutions and employers, accreditation of training providers (in the formal, non-formal and informal sectors), assessment, certification, internal and external quality assurance of training programmes, funding, and instructor training.

According to him “This calls for a TVE system that is competency-based and employment led, with proficiency testing of learners and trainees as proof of competence. TVE should also be seen and acknowledged by all stakeholders as a valid passport to a well-paid job or self-employment or higher education and not as an alternative educational opportunity fit only for early school leavers, the less academically endowed or the poor.”

He however added that government should create an economic environment that promotes the growth of enterprises and generally stimulates the economy.

“When businesses develop and expand, additional labour-market demands for technical and vocational training emerge, and new job and further training opportunities are created to trace and light the path of industrialisation,” he concluded.

She added that “Nigeria can become an economic power house (and realise its vision) only if proper attention is given to education and channel its material and human resources to productive use. The leaders must recognise the relevance of technical education in national development and adopt what works in developed nations.”

For Uwaifo, “For progress to be made in Nigeria, the challenges confronting technical education must be recognized and fought vigorously. Adequate resources should be allocated to the programme in order to achieve positive outcomes. A comprehensive reform toward technical education and a deliberate attempt to uplift the programme is the only panacea to a technological Eldorado in this country.”