The Federal Government of Nigeria has set a target of creating one million export-linked jobs and certifying 10 million Nigerians in the information technology sector by 2030. This initiative is part of the government's efforts to position the country's youthful population for opportunities in the international labour market. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, disclosed this at the 'Hire from Nigeria side' event held on the margins of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.
According to Dr. Alausa, Nigeria's large youthful population, English-language advantage, cultural adaptability, and growing digital capabilities offer significant opportunities for the country to expand its participation in the global economy. He emphasized that the Federal Ministry of Education is playing a critical role in building a pipeline of trained, certified, and adaptable Nigerians whose skills can meet the demands of employers in the global outsourcing and digitally enabled services market.
Dr. Alausa identified the need for Nigeria to address the mismatch between education and evolving employer requirements, inadequate work-based learning opportunities, and limited access to internationally recognized certification. To address these challenges, the Ministry is pursuing curriculum reforms, stronger accreditation and quality assurance, as well as expanded digital and technical training through Federal institutions and credible private training providers.
The Minister stressed that employers must play a more direct role in shaping the education and skills pipeline, insisting that industry participation should extend from programme design to training, assessment, certification, and recruitment. He also disclosed that the Federal Government's free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme had received more than one million applications, with 160,000 trainees supported through approximately 1,200 centres nationwide.
Dr. Alausa said the government is promoting multiple pathways to employment and enterprise, including university education, TVET, apprenticeships, and continuous upskilling. These pathways are being designed to provide opportunities for employment, entrepreneurship, and further learning, while changing the perception of technical and vocational education as an inferior alternative to university education.
On the impact of artificial intelligence and emerging technologies on employment, Dr. Alausa said Nigeria must prepare young people to work alongside technology rather than compete with it in routine tasks. He identified judgement, creativity, domain knowledge, data literacy, cybersecurity, cloud services, software development, customer success, quality assurance, and AI-enabled operations as some of the skills required in the emerging labour market.
The Minister urged international employers, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) operators, investors, and development partners to move beyond expressions of interest and commit to practical partnerships and investable talent pipelines. He said the initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on human capital development, job creation, skills acquisition, and inclusive economic growth.
Key points
- The Federal Government aims to create one million export-linked jobs and certify 10 million Nigerians in IT by 2030.
- The Minister of Education emphasized the need for employers to play a direct role in shaping the education and skills pipeline.
- The government is promoting multiple pathways to employment and enterprise, including university education, TVET, apprenticeships, and continuous upskilling.
