The Octagon: We appreciate your taking time out to join this chat session which is one of the first of many conversations to go on www.theoctagon.com.ng. This session will end at 7pm. We have two moderators in the room who will only offer guidance where necessary. Please feel free to openly share your thoughts and experiences.

The Octagon: Let’s begin with some introductions before going into the discussion. Can everyone let us know who they are and share a bit about what they do? Thank you

Toks: Hi everyone. My name is Toks Adebayo, I’m the MD and founding partner of Marina HR solutions – a recruitment and training consultancy focused on Africa.

Rijo: I am Rijo Shekari, a Chartered Accountant. I currently work in financial advisory with an investment firm in Abuja.

Ernest: Ernest Danjuma Enebi. Founder and Managing Partner at Denda – a brand design and growth strategy company helping build and grow Africa owned and focused start ups, small businesses and non-profits.

Paul: Hi everyone, my name is Paul Foh CEO Katalyst Consulting.

Gihan: Hi everyone, my name is Gihan Mbelu. Managing Partner of Kainetix Eleven – Business Advisory (Security and Shipping focused). It’s a pleasure meeting.

Bankole: My name is Bankole Williams. I am a management consultant and the founder of LiveYourDreamsAfrica.

Laolu: I am Laolu Alabi, also known as Damilare Baker. I run Damilare Baker Projects, a real Estate Development and Consultancy Firm.  I also run Beyond Ideas limited – a Strategy and Technology firm and I am also the President and founder of eighteento35, an impact organization designed to raise high achievers, super performers and Influential leaders within the 18 –  35 age demography in Nigeria and by extension,  Africa.

Akor: I am Akor Opaluwah. I am a brand designer and currently completing my doctorate in International development with a focus on development policies in Nigeria.

The Octagon: The issue of unemployment has been in the front burner of discourse in the nation in recent years. Employers of labor often complain that even graduates though professionally or technically qualified are unemployable, in that they lack the requisite, essential skills or competencies needed in the job or for sustainable employment. Nigeria has as a result experienced a rise in skills and skills gap trainings focused to build industry, human capacity and promote economic opportunities. Is there really a skills gap? Why aren’t the skills gap trainings in Nigeria creating the desired impact? Or are they? Does our economy need more young people with professional education or education focused on industrialism or establishing small businesses? Over to you guys!

Rijo: There is absolutely a skills gap. I’ve been privileged to sit on a few panels and it’s quite frightening when you see the quality of ladies and gentlemen our tertiary institutions produce. I’ve worked on multiple teams and many people have little to bring to the table. There is the problem of a poor educational background and lack of exposure, which plagues them till university days. So you find many people that over the years have not been able to develop themselves and acquire skills that meet the requirements of the market or business environment. A contributing factor is the absence of a manufacturing or producing sector. That may have required new skill sets like programming, robotics, and advanced engineering. Millions of unemployed are chasing few jobs in the servicing sector, be it telecoms, banking, insurance or some other.

Bankole: I believe we need to go back to our educational system to discover the root cause. Firstly, we live in a society where the curriculum has not been modified to suite the Time we are in. A number of the courses students study are gradually getting extinct let alone the procedures being taught. It is imperative we begin to collate data that analyzes the current available job roles in comparison with the number of graduates universities churn out for these roles. There is clearly a mismatch.

Toks: Equipping the workforce with the skills required for the jobs of today and those of tomorrow is a real concern for Nigeria.

Gihan: I agree that there is a ‘basic skills’ gap in the Nigerian workforce. I use the term ‘basic skill’ because most working class Nigerians are highly qualified on a tertiary level. We have simply skipped the basics of education/work: Diligence, efficiency, honesty and personal growth, hence the gap. I observe that a typical 8hour work day breeds about 2hours in efficiency in Nigeria; whereas in more developed countries where wages are paid by the hour, every minute counts leading to growth in income/economy/society and ultimately build a nation. The issues are more basic than they are curriculum based. Until we use a “charity begins at home” approach to teaching ‘basic skills’ our economy simply cannot and will not grow. We will continue to widen the gaps that have taken away the ideals of real economy.

Ernest: I echo Bankole’s point, which is that the gap really starts with the education system. I actually think our model of “teaching the man how to fish” as a solution to the fishing problem might be misguided. Instead we should teach the man how to think, that way he can create solutions to his problems. Very interesting point Gihan.

Akor: That’s true. There is definitely a skill gap. Not just in the educational system, but between the educational institutions and the industry. There is a real gap in how the two communicate. So institutions just pump out graduates they desire and the industry picks from them rather than the industry stating what they desire and the institutions meeting this requirement.

Rijo: There has to be a sync between our universities and the various industries. The industries set the pace for skill requirements, while universities support with research and innovation.

Bankole: I also believe there are soft and technical skills gaps. We hire expatriates because of the evident gaps e.g in construction and in the oil and gas sectors. How about the basic artisan roles no one is interested. There are job opportunities for some of these roles but graduates are not empowered to take these roles. Also some roles seem somewhat demeaning till an educated man decides to take it up.

The Octagon: We seem to all agree that there is a gap of some sort. Are the gaps popularly identified the ones that need attention? Are the current skills gap trainings creating the desired impact?

Akor: I don’t think so. There needs to be a clear distinction in the type of skills that we create. Most especially, the difference between polytechnics and universities – Their different functions over the years have been blended into each other. Now polytechnic graduates desire university graduate jobs, when none should think of the other as more important. This problem though can be traced to the industry that does not distinguish between the skills necessary, and emphasize on who should take these roles.

Gihan: I don’t know that there is currently a public skill gap training, unless within organizations.  Orientation is definitely important to building basic with ethic. Your skill must be matched with good ethics.

Ernest: I think they are starting to create the impact desired. The pace is just not keeping up with the problem. For instance the government has identified 4 sectors in which to focus its skills training – ICT and Digital Jobs, agriculture, Construction and Wholesale and retail. The problem is even if you reach full capacity (which will take some time) in the training in these sectors you still have a huge gap in job creation, which then overshadows whatever gains are being made.

Bankole: I believe the word “skill” is very broad. There are soft and technical skills. These two have to be addressed right from institutions of higher learning. However there seems to be more emphasis in the theory of technical skills which do not apply to every day problems faced in society.

Laolu: I believe that the problem is not the lack of degrees but the lack of education. Closely linked to this, I also believe that the problem especially in Nigeria is actually more of a diligence, discipline and Contentment problem. It’s a mentality problem and very vast in this generation. Young people these days are increasingly ‘mental’. Nigeria only happens to show this problem more because of the seeming more limited opportunities in the formal sector here than there is in other parts of the world. By diligence and discipline, I mean, we hardly have young people who are willing after their basic degrees, to actually volunteer with little or no pay to gain the required ‘skill and knowledge’.  Our internship programs are simply nowhere to be found. Even on internships that we call ‘SIWES’ and ‘IT’, young individuals are more concerned with looking for postings in large organizations where they can immediately earn something good with little or no experience. Nowhere in the world do fresh graduates have the required practical skill sets.  The difference however is that their internship programs are very dynamic and efficient and people are willing to actually learn and go through what it takes.

Gihan: Nigerians are ‘paper educated’, we brandish degrees like they are badges of honor. This also is a wrong societal orientation. We live in a society where we don’t understand the difference between using what you have to create success and showing what you have to appear successful. A McDonalds line manager knows more about churning out efficient burger numbers and increasing profitability more than a Masters degree graduate in Nigeria knows about producing his product more efficiently to reach wider markets. The gap is basic orientation. Nigerians have the tools but we don’t know how to use it. As an employer myself, I weep at the efficiency of our workforce in Nigeria. I feel it has created a lazy generation and a failing economy. An economy/business is built with hard work, many moving parts. I don’t see the movement and people still get paid to work at 20% capacity. There is a major issue here and fixing it is a ‘journey of a thousand miles’.

Toks: The country simply does not have enough jobs to go around. Education and Skills development should be the primary focus for government. We need Nigerian students to study what the country needs, not them studying what we don’t need. For example opportunities in the mining sector are untapped but how many students are studying for mining degrees? How many of our universities are offering these courses? We need to start planning for the future and developing skills in the areas that can grow the country.

Bankole: I also believe strongly that we need to move from an EMPLOYMENT based society to a DEPLOYMENT based society. We are conditioned to look for jobs when we get out of school. There Is very little emphasis on enterprise development as opposed to employment. The average graduate seeks to get a job but like Toks mentioned there are not enough jobs. We need more basic skills acquisition intiatives, we Need to grow the small and medium scale business sector. Some societies in Asia are conditioned to set up businesses. That’s why a Lebanese man can move to Nigeria to set a business on my street. What he is looking for by virtue of his education is totally different from what the average graduate seeks.

Laolu: I also believe that technical skill like Bankole alluded to has to be repackaged and impact organizations in partnership with the government need to champion this.  Everyone wants a white Collar Job. No one wants to be a plumber. Some of the best mechanics I know have degrees. But our young people all want to wear suits and sit behind a desk. That’s where ‘self worth’ comes from. The suit gives more young people ‘self confidence’ than ‘purpose’ does. So we have a ‘born mechanic’ vying for the job of a ‘teller’ and we expect that there won’t be a seeming skill gap. Again, We have a mental problem! We need to create more campaigns targeting young individuals in high school. Our Guidance and counselling departments in secondary schools have been reduced to where a student is taken when he/she misbehaves!

Ernest: Gihan’s point about the McDonalds manager knowing more about logistics and efficiency raises yet another question which is what is the role of society in skills training. If society prizes politicians and contracts, as opposed to the US that prizes the factory worker and the line manager, those skills begin to diminish. And so what you see is a society that has neglected over the decades the hard worker. While we talk about skills as an important factor we also need to make sure we have people who are willing to do the dirty work. Implementers. We are building a generation of strategists with no one to implement. Which is why we’re one of the smartest countries on the planet and one of the poorest.

The Octagon: Will incentivizing help solve these issues that Gihan, bankole, Laolu and Akor have raised? How do we even start this “journey of a thousand miles”

Ernest: We need to incentivize schools and universities that train and equip young adults with skills to succeed. In most advanced countries a huge metric in assessing Universities and Polytechnics is the percentage of their graduates that land full time jobs. If we can start to do that it might encourage schools to over perform. And maybe share best practices from institutions like Yaba Tech which repeatedly comes up as a model for schools producing outstanding graduates.

Gihan: I have to reiterate that in my opinion it’s a basic orientation issue. And Ernest hit the nail on the head with the “generation of strategist with no one to implement”. We as Nigerians have a false sense of achievement. If you give a lazy man a Ph.D, he remains a LAZY MAN with a Ph.D.  We have grown in a society where a man doesn’t build a life ‘block by block’ and this has been the orientation of a generation. Until we change our value system, we can’t see real change in efficiently and result. The banker steals money and build a mansion, the cleaner sweeps dust under your carpet; on every level of employment it evident that there are orientation flaws. The gap is a simple mindset and takes a lot to fix.

Laolu: As Bankole mentioned, we need data to prove some of these issues. We need to know how many graduates leave University every year, we need to know the ‘degree split’. Which industry seems to have more graduates, we need to know how many are working with what they studied,  we need to know how many studied what they wanted. But the issue of Data is another big problem in this our society. If the moderator allows me, I will post a short write up I did on the ‘Data gap’.  I’m sure we all would identify with it.

Bankole: Laolu you are right, can we start with collating data? Can we start with knowing what the numbers are and how critical these issues are? Could this our growing youth bulge be a huge risk that we are underestimating. I heard the average age in Nigeria is 18! We need to start re-orienting the youth before they take to the streets

Akor: I don’t agree with the notion that people need to start businesses. Or better yet, I partially disagree with it. There is evidence that societies that have a disproportionate amount of ‘entrepreneurs’ are not economically strong. There is need for a very conscious balance.  Also the reason people would not want to be plumbers is because we are not really willing to pay a plumber a living wage. If I study plumbing at a University (or rightly, a polytechnic ) would anyone be willing to pay be the rates a I deserve? This skill gap we are complaining about in inadvertently and partially caused by our unwillingness to pay for the service we claim to desire.

Bankole: Not sure I agree with you Akor. My current mechanic studied automobile diagnosis abroad and I pay a bit more to get my car fixed because I have suffered in the hands of jokers. Also most people don’t mind paying more for basic customer service, which the road side guy will not give you.

Akor: Well, you did suffer in the hand of mediocrity before you moved there. And still in that. I still doubt that you pay a chef or a plumber or a skilled Bricklayer. The gap is a circle. But not a lone standing circle. It overlaps with many of what we have mentioned in this discussion. From government to institutional failings. But I must say we should not exempt ourselves from the blame. Let’s put it this way. How many of us are willing to let our children or siblings study one of these courses without battling with the fear of a lost future?

Toks: They say the country is full of many entrepreneurs. I personally believe this is not down to choice but due to lack of job opportunities available after school and university. So people have to create their own destiny and create a business.  Creating jobs will come from investing in areas that have been neglected. Developing skills in these areas is where the focus should be to see the impact.

Gihan: Again it’s back to orientation. I’d rather my child learn that waking up early, applying your mind, being diligent, trusting and having a ‘stick to it’ mentality will breed success. Success maybe not measured by money but by self movement, self growth and self worth. “If do my work well, I will grow”, this orientation can only come about by having good youth focused leaders/government. It must be fixed at the core. The older generation or mentors as they would like to be called, didn’t teach the right methods. A line worker at McDonalds wants to work hard enough to become a franchise manager and then diligently enough to become a franchise owner. He works with a dream to success. Our dream in Nigeria is to become rich quick like our “mentors”. This is why a Doctor becomes a Car Importer, a Lawyer becomes a Developer and a Gateman a Petty thief. Orientation at the core. This is our gap.

Bankole: Let’s take a pool here. Who has not suffered in the hands of an artisan before? Artisans are a major main point. Let more enlightened folks get involved or at least manage the businesses and train them well. The world is evolving. before now very few people would have said they wanted their children to be entertainers. Now, we are all registering kids in music school. Unto what purpose?

Akor: Let’s pay artisans well, demand and invest in education of them (polytechnics).  That is the only way their standards will rise. The skill that is most lacking is that in the artisan industry and we must fix that. It is the bedrock of most things in society. Our ICT or Mechanical engineering degree needs a ton of artisan (and at this point that term is not right for them) skill.

Rijo: We would require skills & specialties that meet what society demands. Government however has a role in providing infrastructure such as broadband, equipping of laboratories, and spending on research.

The Octagon: We will close this conversation in 4minutes. Can we share our last points? Thanks.

Gihan: This forum was very good and informative. My final comment is “Nigeria is in trouble”. Our orientation got us here and we continue to dip. I don’t believe in miracles.

Akor: I want us to invest personally and as a society in research and education. Not just school fees but get on school boards an influence the curriculum and training methods.

Rijo: In closing, industry and the educational system are mutually inclusive. One sets the tone for quality of graduates in terms of requisite skill sets, while the other helps with research, especially for the manufacturing sector.

Laolu: I believe in miracles. That we are where we are and the country itself is still surviving is a miracle!  We need a mental reorientation!

Bankole: We need reorientation. We need to prepare our people for the future. This requires us going back to our institutions and preparing our students adequately for what opportunities lie ahead of us. This will require is revisiting our curriculum in partnership with the Labour market

Paul: I strongly agree with you Bankole on that, Peter Theil said on a recent trip to China that the intensity of the Chinese to learn and relearn via the Internet is scary. I believe we can imbibe that same kind of hunger here.  It’s all in the mind. But how do we help mentally lazy people?

Ernest: The private sector doesn’t understand or see the need to invest in the overall training and skills development of young people. Particularly if they’re not going to directly benefit from it. Or if they feel like the worker might leave them. I think we have to change that mindset. No training or development is ever wasted.

The Octagon: Thanks so much for your contributions. We will notify everyone when we launch the platform and share on the site. Thank you, and have a great weekend.

Visit www.theoctagon.com.ng to read more conversations. Follow @theoctagonroom to engage in the conversation. If you’re passionate about a subject, and would like to be part of the Octagon Panel, send us an email at [email protected].