Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called for immediate and united action to close Nigeria’s widening skills gap as a national priority, critical to economic transformation.
By Salisu Sani-Idris
Vice-President Kashim Shettima has called for immediate and united action to close Nigeria’s widening skills gap as a national priority, critical to economic transformation.
Shettima made the call on Thursday during the 6th meeting of the National Council on Skills (NCS) at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that a major highlight of the meeting was the proposal for a National Skills Infrastructure Audit.
This is with a view to create a centralised database of all training facilities, verify their functionality, and identify gaps or overlaps in infrastructure.
The audit will also involve physical verification of centres and a detailed cataloguing of operational training facilities, ensuring alignment with national occupational standards and labour market needs.
The Vice-President noted that the council’s mandate is to develop a strategic workforce capable of meeting Nigeria’s evolving economic demands.
“What binds us together supercedes whatever divides us. We have to make this country work. We need to fill in the skills gap,” he said.
Shettima pointed out that the council has a mission to strategically position Nigeria’s workforce to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving economy.
“This council was established with a clear mandate to drive the strategic development of the skilled workforce that can contribute meaningfully to national growth and prosperity,” he added.
Shettima described the session as an open forum where positions are aired and important decisions are taken.
He emphasised that stakeholder engagement, consensus-building, and decisive leadership are essential to fixing Nigeria’s skills and employment crisis.
” The government’s policy trajectory is to strengthen human capital development for national growth and industry through skills development.
“However, unless the skills infrastructure across MDAs is optimised, this vision will remain unattainable,” the council noted.