•as South-West region mulls collaboration on technical education advancement
Lagos State Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat has emphasised that leveraging technical education is crucial to creating a prosperous and resilient nation, equipped to overcome challenges and seize opportunities for the future.
Hamzat gave this position on Tuesday while speaking at the meeting of the six South-West states that include, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo Osun, and Ekiti, on the need to collaborate and formulate policies on technical education that would catapult the region into a more viable one in terms of technological and business advancement.
Speaking at the South-West Regional Technical Education Providers Forum, themed ‘Empowering Technical Education Providers: Implementing Policies for a Skilled Labour Market’, held at Amber Residence Hotel, Ikoyi, the deputy governor stated that unlocking a brighter future required a strong foundation in technical education and, therefore, the need to build an innovative economy, understands digital essence and “also allows people to use their hands to work.”
“If we really want to build a prosperous and resilient nation, we must leverage technical education. So our aim must then be to build an innovative economy, that understands digital essence and that also allows people to use their hands to work,” he said.
On the need for the South West states to develop a unified regional framework for Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET), Hamzat expressed the view that such would ensure consistency and quality across the region.
The deputy governor described TVET as crucial in the development of the nation, especially Africa, saying that it provides hands-on training, enabling students to develop skills relevant to the job market, even as he added that Nigeria was at a pivotal moment, where there was youth unemployment due to lack of adequately trained professionals.
Besides, the deputy governor said there was a need “to establish a mechanism to track outcomes and continuously refine strategies, invest in infrastructure, and foster collaboration by engaging Federal, State and Local Governments as well as private sector actors and development partners.”
He stressed that in the context of the South West, Technical and Vocation Education can help in addressing skill gaps by aligning training programmes with industry demands and ensuring a steady supply of skilled labour.
“To maximise the impact of TVET in our region, it must evolve and this calls for bold reforms in the following ways; we must look at the curriculum programmes. It must incorporate digital skills, because whether we like it or not technology is the thing right now.
“We must be able to understand how to manipulate data and be able to have some knowledge of IT. Our people must be able to understand where the world is going, if not Africa will be left behind,” he stated.
Speaking further, the deputy governor added that there was a need to expand accessibility, by removing barriers that prevent women, people with disabilities, and the rural population from accessing TVET programmes and also bring it to a level where it becomes attractive to the children of the rich.
Hazmat, therefore, restated the importance of attaching technical and vocational education to the country’s education system, citing that Lagos had vocational colleges across the five divisions in the state, namely: Ikeja, Badagry, Ikorodu, Epe, and Lagos Island.
He disclosed that over 10,000 students had so far benefitted from the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board’s Technical and Vocational Education Programme in the state.
The State Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Mr Tolani Alli-Balogun, in his welcome address, elucidated the importance of empowering technical education providers, saying that such a step was critical to building a skilled labour market that can drive economic growth, innovation, and prosperity.
Alli-Balogun argued that empowering technical education providers would ensure the implementation of policies that foster a skilled labour market, urging Nigerians and policymakers to work together to implement policies that support the success of the providers that would ultimately benefit communities, the economies, and the nation’s collective future.
“It is our collective responsibility to empower Technical Education providers with increased funding, investments, with streamlined regulatory frameworks to respond to changing labour market demands to foster close ties between Technical Education Providers and Industry partners.
“This is to ensure that training programmes are relevant, effective, and aligned with labour market needs,” he said.
The Executive Secretary, Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB), Ms. Moronke Azeez, in her address, stated the need to improve the state of technical education in South West region to ensure that the country had young people who were knowledgeable, skilled, competent, and employable.
Azeez added that both the government and every stakeholder in the region must put their hands together to achieve great things for technical education in the country and for the benefit of the coming generations.
“Our focus is on formal technical education as contained in the National Education Policy, which provides an alternative pathway for young people.
“There is huge potential in catching them young with good, solid technical education and training because these students will not become out-of-school children or young people walking around aimlessly,” she said.
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