Bridging the gap between higher education and workforce needs in the 21st century through adult education and lifelong education.
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2017-06-01
Authors
Ememe, P.I.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nigerian National Council for Adult Education
Abstract
Nigerian employers of labour are grappling with an apparent skills gap, a mismatch between skills employees have and labour market demands. This situation is attributed to a number o] reasons which include higher education's inability to produce graduates that work ready/or the 21st-century workforce. This study is an attempt to determine how to bridge the skills gap through adult and lifelong education. The study employed the descriptive survey research. The population for the study consisted of all Human Resources (HR) practitioners in Lagos state. A total of 100 human resources practitioners were purposively selected. To collect data for the study, a questionnaire tagged "Bridging skills Gap Questionnaire" (BSGQ) was developed by the researcher. Data collected was analyzed using simple percentages. The study revealed among other things that higher education is not sufficiently meeting the needs of the workforce in terms of producing graduates that are work ready with relevant skills, there is obvious skills gap between skills obtained from higher education and skills needed by the labour force, higher education graduates are not employable because they lack problem solving skills, communication skills and other adaptive skills needed necessary la respond to labour force demands. skills can only be bridged through alternative pedagogical approach that allows learners to continue learning and updating their knowledge. Based on the findings, it was recommended that curriculum of higher programmes should be restructured 10 include soft skills, adult and lifelong education should be emphasized and given its rightful recognition in Nigeria.
Description
Keywords
Higher education, skills gap, curriculum, programmes
Citation
Ememe, P.I. (2017). Bridging the gap between higher education and workforce needs in the 21st century through adult education and lifelong education. National Council for Adult Education Journal. 22(1): 393-408 .