• Says Career Imposition On Youths Causes Skills Gap
A leading skill hub in Nigeria, iCreate Africa, whose aim is to promote the need for a renewed focus on deriving the benefits of technical skills through youth development and training, has urged parents and youth in the country to change their negative perception of technical education and skills acquisition.
Founder and chief executive officer of the organization, Bright Jaja, gave the clarion call at the 2022 edition of the iCreate Skills Fest, the largest Skills Competition, Exhibition, and Job Fair, focused on prompting and highlighting opportunities in technical and vocational Skills trades in Africa.
In a bid to address the lingering challenge of youth unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, which according to him is connected to skills gap, he warned parents against imposition of career on their wards, adding that such undermines the development of youths and the society in general.
He said many youths have been derailed by bowing to pressure from their parents to study a course against their wish, noting that it has led to increased unskilled labour and unemployment in the country.
According to Jaja, the iCreate Skills Fest initiative was borne out of passion and efforts to rebrand artisanship as well as changing the narrative of technical and vocational education in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“This is an idea geared towards bringing young people together to showcase their talents and technical skills, getting people to see the importance and values in trades, and getting young people to find interest in skills acquisition to bridge employment gap.
The only way we can do that is to rebrand and change that negative societal perception that avails skills and find more young people to start carving a niche in the skills world”, he stated.
He noted that for Nigeria to favourably compete with other nations of the world, the culture of skills development and innovative thinking must be prioritized, while giving due attention and recognition to artisanship, which iCreate aims to achieve.
He stressed the need for re-orientation of youths and parents while also channeling efforts towards monetizing skills and home-based expertise.
