Skilled Labour & Technical Professionals In Nigeria:A Gap That Industrial Training Fund Must Rise To Bridge

By Adeboye Adebayo

In March 2026, I attended the 4th African Education Summit in Accra, Ghana where I spoke about the technicalities of Artisan and that of the professionals in Nigeria.

At the Lagos International airport lounge, I got talking with an Indian pharmacist, he made an assertion that apart from the problems of electricity in Nigeria, one major problem is lack of skilled labour in Nigeria. He said Nigerians are hardworking but not skilled.

I ruminated about it, mentioned it in Accra and called on the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) to bridge the gap as an agency of government saddled with such responsibilities.

The issue has been reoccurring in Nigeria these days and solutions must be found to it.

Recently, the CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, stirred national conversations when he reportedly stated that his company had about 500 vacancies which they struggled to fill because qualified personnel could not be found locally to meet the required standards.

Whether one fully agrees with the exact framing of his comments or not, the reality is that his statement touched a painful but undeniable national concern — Nigeria is gradually facing a widening gap between labour availability and technical competence. This is not to say Nigerians are lazy. Far from it.

Across Africa and even globally, Nigerians are recognised for resilience, adaptability, enterprise, and the ability to survive under difficult conditions. Nigerian youths dominate several sectors from entertainment to technology, trade, finance, healthcare, sports, and academia.

However, the challenge increasingly confronting the country is not willingness to work but preparedness for modern industrial, technical, and professional demands.

Many graduates leave tertiary institutions with certificates but without practical industrial competence. Many artisans possess raw experience but lack standardisation, certification, modern tools exposure, and global best practices. Industries are expanding technologically while the labour force is developing too slowly to match evolving demands. This is where the role of the Industrial Training Fund becomes critically important.

The ITF was established not merely as another government agency but as a strategic manpower development institution responsible for equipping Nigerians with employable, productive, and industry-relevant skills. Its mandate includes industrial training, technical manpower development, vocational competence, apprenticeship support, and bridging the disconnect between education and industry.

Unfortunately, the magnitude of Nigeria’s present skills crisis requires a far more aggressive, modernised, and nationalistic intervention than what currently exists.

Nigeria today is at a dangerous economic crossroads. The nation simultaneously battles:
youth unemployment, underemployment, industrial inefficiency, too import dependency, declining technical competence, and massive brain drain through the “Japa” syndrome.

Ironically, many companies still complain of shortage of qualified manpower despite millions of unemployed graduates roaming the streets.

This contradiction explains the real problem: a skills mismatch economy. Several sectors are already suffering from this challenge; manufacturing, construction, ICT, renewable energy, automobile engineering,
agriculture technology, fintech,
healthcare support services,
and industrial maintenance.

The average employer today is no longer merely looking for paper qualifications. Employers now demand competence, precision, adaptability, productivity, digital literacy, machine familiarity, problem-solving ability, and technical professionalism.

Countries that became industrial powers understood this reality decades ago. Germany built strong technical apprenticeship systems. China invested heavily in manufacturing-oriented workforce development. India expanded technical institutes and skill acquisition programmes. South Korea aligned education directly with industrial policy.

These countries did not become productive economies merely because they had educated citizens; they became productive because they intentionally developed skilled citizens. Nigeria must now take the same route urgently.

The ITF must rise beyond ceremonial trainings and occasional workshops into becoming the national engine room for technical rebirth and industrial manpower transformation.

First, the agency must aggressively expand practical vocational and industrial training across all states of the federation. Technical education must no longer be treated as inferior to university education. A certified welder, industrial electrician, machine operator, software engineer, fabricator, robotics technician, or automobile mechatronics expert can contribute more directly to economic productivity than thousands of unemployed certificate holders without practical skills.

Second, ITF must build stronger partnerships with industries and private sector operators. Training curricula must be designed around actual labour market needs rather than outdated assumptions. Nigeria cannot continue training youths for jobs that no longer exist while ignoring sectors with growing manpower shortages.

Third, the agency must embrace modern technology-driven skill development. Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, industrial automation, renewable energy systems, drone technology, precision agriculture, and data analytics are defining the future global economy. Nigerian youths must not be left behind.

Fourth, Nigeria must deliberately professionalise artisanship. Across advanced economies, artisans are respected, certified, regulated, and financially empowered. In Nigeria, however, many artisans operate informally without standardisation. This affects quality, productivity, and international competitiveness. ITF can champion a nationwide artisan certification and upgrade framework capable of transforming roadside craftsmanship into globally recognised technical professions.

Fifth, industrial attachment and internship systems must become more effective. Many students complete SIWES programmes without practical exposure because the system has become weak, poorly monitored, or compromised in some areas. That defeats the original purpose of industrial training.

Government must also understand that skill development is not charity; it is economic infrastructure.
A nation without skilled manpower cannot industrialise sustainably. Investors may enter such an economy initially, but they eventually face productivity bottlenecks caused by inadequate technical capacity. This was exactly the concern raised by the Indian professional I encountered at the airport on my way to Accra and similarly echoed by the Moniepoint CEO.

The warning signs are becoming louder. If Nigeria fails to develop a technically competent workforce, the country risks becoming merely a consumer market for foreign products, foreign technologies, and foreign expertise while millions of local youths remain unemployed.

However, if properly harnessed, Nigeria possesses one of the greatest demographic advantages in the world. The energy, creativity, and ambition of Nigerian youths can become the foundation for industrial prosperity if matched with relevant technical skills and structured manpower development. The time has therefore come for a national skills emergency response.

The Industrial Training Fund must become more visible, more innovative, more industry-focused, and more transformational in its approach.

Beyond policy speeches, Nigeria needs measurable skill outcomes, certified competence, industrial productivity, and globally competitive manpower.

The future of Nigeria’s economy may ultimately depend not only on natural resources or political rhetoric but on whether the nation can successfully transform its hardworking population into a highly skilled and technically productive workforce.

That bridge must be built now, and the ITF must help lead the way.

Comrade Adeboye Adebayo, who is an APC Chieftain, is an Executive Member of Asiwaju Grassroots Foundation, AGF, Member of APC Professional Forum, Abuja. He also served as Spokesman, 2023 Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council.