Education for sustainability: Addressing youth unemployment through research and data analysis training in Nigeria

• In Event: Roundtable Session (Tuesday VI)
  In Refereed Round-Table Session: Addressing youth employment and unemployment: different approaches

Proposal

With the recent launch of the Youth 2030 strategy at the 73rd United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, the UN re-establishes its commitment to improving the lives of youth globally. The existing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) developed and approved by the UN member states in 2015 have stressed the urgent need for education for sustainability and youth empowerment at national and international levels. This can be seen particularly in SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all, and SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. However, in Sub-Saharan Africa, youth unemployment has continue to be on the increase and lack of relevant skills among youth or tertiary institution graduates have been identified as major cause of unemployment (Baah-Boateng, 2016).
In Nigeria, challenges within the country’s education sector such as poor policy commitment to education, unqualified teachers, inadequate curriculum and decaying education infrastructure have contributed to the rising unemployment rate among youth in the country (Adebayo and Adebayo, 2017). According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), of the 29.8% of youth labour force participation rate in 2016, about 18.4% is recorded as youth unemployment rate in Nigeria.
Therefore, this study investigates how education can address youth unemployment challenges for sustainable development in Nigeria. Through review of extant literature on sustainable education and youth unemployment, and two surveys conducted exploring the challenges with youth employability in Nigeria. We uncovered a huge skills gap in the research and data analysis sector in Nigeria. Finding capable young people who are employable in research and data analysis in Nigeria is a major challenge because of the skills dearth in this area of specialisation. In a survey, we conducted between 29 August and 25 September 2018 with research related institutions and organizations in Nigeria. Of the 27 responses received, about 71% of the respondents affirm that new recruits could not write research proposals and outlines. One of the major challenges these organisations faced in recruiting candidates for entry-level jobs was finding skilled and capable young people to fill vacant positions within the organisation. However, 92% of respondents agreed that these new recruits are teachable and willing to learn. Another problem encountered in the research and data analysis sector is that even when graduates have the required skill set, a number of them are unable to articulate this properly and adequately complete an application for a job. Our second survey, with graduates from higher institutions willing to improve their employability skills in Nigeria, which commenced 20 September 2018, with 68 respondents recorded so far, reveal that 92% of the respondents are interested in undergoing a training in research and data analysis to enable them to apply for and secure meaningful employment in Research and Data Analysis.
Thus, our research findings identified a need for an innovative training programme to both fill the gaps in human capacity and to create a lifelong learning system in Nigeria. We have therefore developed a training programme that prepares young people in Nigeria for the world of work in general but equips them with specific research and data analysis skills within a lifelong learning framework. Our programme empowers young people and graduates in Nigeria with research skills, data analysis and employability skills that can be employed in a wide range of sectors and roles. Combining it with lifelong learning and sustainability mean that youths can evolve as future jobs evolve.

Authors

• Bridget Azubuike, Univeristy of Oxford

• Seun Adebayo, National University of Ireland Galway