Special Adviser to the Ogun State Governor on Technical and Vocational Education, Prof. Joseph Odemuyiwa has attributed unemployment and underemployment, as well as youths’ restiveness across the country to the neglect of technical and vocational education by the young generation.
Odemuyiwa said this during an interview with journalists in his office at Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, noting that graduates were not trained to meet the needs of the society, advising the youths to go for vocational skills which would guarantee them employment in the future.
He pointed out that education acquired through informal and formal sectors should be able to serve as means of livelihood, attributing unemployment and underemployment among youths to inadequate education.
Odemuyiwa said, “education that is not tailored towards the need of the society is inadequate. Education has not really been driven to achieve employability which we need in our society, especially among our youths. Some of them who are employed are not employed in line with their certificate thereby making them heavily underemployed.
“You can see graduates going to work as cleaners, gardeners, and messengers, among others. So, what is the essence of going to university, polytechnics, and colleges”.
The Special Adviser urged education planners to revisit the school’s curriculum and study society on the need for producing students who would be relevant in the labour market.
