The Nationwide Board for Technical Training has known as for a obligatory 50 per cent inclusion of talent acquisition within the curriculum for secondary college college students.
This, NBTE mentioned would assist the scholars to have a greater understanding of their pursuits and talents, and enhance them in decision-making, thereby resulting in their private {and professional} improvement.
The Govt Secretary, Prof. Idris Bugaje, mentioned this in an interplay with the Information Company of Nigeria on the board’s newly launched top-up programme for Greater Nationwide Diploma holders to accumulate a Bachelor of Science of their selection course.
Bugaje careworn that enhancing technical schooling and vocational coaching for college students secondary college students would successfully establish skills that may very well be nurtured into worthwhile enterprises.
He urged that the nation ought to expose college students to abilities at their early stage, to foster their improvement.
“In case you go to Germany that operates a twin system, proper from fundamental schooling, they expose their kids to abilities and on the secondary college, college students spend three days in faculties and three days within the industries.
“By the point they’re prepared for increased schooling, three-quarters of them go to the polytechnics and fewer than one quarter solely go to the college as a result of they’ve already been uncovered to the coaching obtained underneath the twin system.
”In Nigeria, when college students come out from tertiary establishments, they don’t have any jobs as a result of they aren’t match for the industries.
“So authorities should change the route and demand that fifty per cent of our secondary college leavers ought to go for abilities coaching in polytechnics, possibly 30 per cent can go to the college and 20 per cent to the School of Training (COE),” he mentioned .
These steps, Bugaje mentioned would allow the federal government to reposition the polytechnics to have consultants to ship on our initiatives.
He, nonetheless, raised concern over the speed at which the nation engaged the companies of overseas technicians when it had the experience to deal with the assorted initiatives within the nation.
“In case you have a look at the Abuja railway observe, it was delivered by the Chinese language technicians and we should always not enable that to proceed as a result of that is resulting in capital flight and our youths are there unemployed.
“Why not give our personal individuals the job and the advantage of abilities coaching is that inside six months you’ll be able to end one degree and inside 4 years you’ll be able to cowl eight ranges.
“That’s the reason we are saying the times of levels are over. Prior to now levels had been essential. Within the nineteenth century, polytechnics had been the most effective mode of coaching, it was after the primary world conflict that universities started centre stage.
“All of the improvements we’re speaking about, most of them by no means got here from the colleges, electrical energy that was found within the nineteenth century was not from the college, innovations had been from artisans and craftsmen.
“So allow us to develop our personal, practice them to accumulate abilities as a result of you’ll be able to have the diploma however don’t have any job,” he mentioned.
He acknowledged that the board had already taken steps to unbundle the curriculum to incorporate abilities qualification.
Bugaje mentioned that polytechnic college students would now be made to be taught a talent referring to the course of examine earlier than such a pupil might graduate.
“From this October, we’re including a talent qualification to each curriculum within the NBTE and if you don’t purchase the talents qualification you’ll not graduate.
”We’re beginning with HND pc science, we’ve unbundled the course into 4. College students will now need to go to Cisco, Microsoft, or any of those massive gamers and get a abilities certificates on a specific talent.
“So we name this twin certification and it will create employment for Nigerians and as properly present a marketplace for Nigerian youths.
“Indians are making the most of that, Bangladesh which has the identical inhabitants as Nigeria has 11,500 youths working in several elements of the world. Morocco exports virtually half 1,000,000 youths to the Center East.
“So we’re saying that Nigerians shouldn’t be left behind. They need to reap the benefits of the talents and alternatives they’ve round them,” he mentioned.
NAN