10am today, A recording I had with Funmi Iyanda was aired on NTA 10. The topic of discussion was formal education versus skill training. Education is a topic I’m always passionate about, so it was a good one to attend for me, and you can guess, I believe that formal education is a waste if it doesn’t provide avenues to develop skills and flairs. I was also eager to watch myself π particularly because we seldom have the opportunity generally of phyiscally looking at ourselves from outside. I was also excited about the calls I got from different parts of the nation, Benin, Abuja, Lagos e.t.c.
The show went well, and you can get further information on www.newdawnwithfunmi.com. What I found particularly disturbing though was how much lack of clarity it further revealed plague our youths. I’m certainly not who you’ll call an old man π I’m young as well, but I feel terrible about the how many of our graduates hit the job market without clarity. Its sickening!
The show did one strong thing for me, it strengthened my resolve to publish a book I had written 2yrs ago. The title of the book is “Ultimate Career Guide”, I read it again after I came back from the show and scolded myself for having moved so slowly with this. There is so much uncertainty and lack of clarity out there, even in most workplaces people are just tagging along until…
I believe it’s good advice for our graduates to begin to go to schools not expecting to get jobs when they finish. Because really, jobs are not available, opportunities are, they are not waiting for you, they have vacant competencies and skills. If we study to develop skills that make us relevant to particular societal problems, then we possibly have a chance.
What are you doing with your life, is it what you really should be doing? Maybe I ought to sell you a copy of my book π
28 thoughts on “On New Dawn With Funmi”
“I believe itβs good advice for our graduates to begin to go to schools not expecting to get jobs when they finish.”
i subscribe to this
abiola akinyemi
Skills versus education? Nigeria is a country where youths have little or no say when their education is concerned. How would a kid with a special talent for drumming, painting, or singing convince a dad that is hell bent on sending his child to study medicine or law?
Imnakoya, I don’t think any kid should be able to convince his dad that he wants to be a drummer π
I think however that he needs to have a strategy. I believe in balance – doing this, without letting go of that. By the time he wants to make a decision to go to university (by which time he is no longer a kid), he would have gotten clarity about what course he can study that will either give him a direct opportunity to perfect his/her skill or give him time to pursue his/her desires.
Having said all this however, I think parents also generally need to be re-oriented. Success is not in the course, it’s in the kid π
I agree with you 100% I’m a victim of the “you’re brilliant, so go for this course” mentality. Through my growing up years, I never for once heard the term “skills” being emphasized or encouraged.
Good point about not expecting to get jobs when our graduates finish school!
personally i think that the issue of “this is what i love doing so i’ll do it” should be done with a mentality of how differnt can i be from the next person that does this as well. only then can u make a differnce in that same field and stand out.also education is an opportunity in itself, make the best of it.
well, i won’t agree with u guys in totality about this issue of graduates leaving school and becoming job creators.where are the enabling environment to do this.as a young graduate coming out of school to start creating jobs,u have to provide basic infrastructures like electricity(u know what i mean)pipe borne water roads etc urself.by the time u do this u can not even break even not to talk of making profits.what is then the responsibilities of people we have voted into power?embezzle our money?look the govt has to provide jobs for those who wants to work and provide enabling environment for the graduates who wants to go into buisness.what u guys should be doing is to sensitise the govt on the roles.u are all crying about graduates providing jobs for themselves,will they start the business with sands?
Graduating from college and not expecting to get a job …. umh….
Let us not forget that ours is a country where culture has taught us to give back to our roots. Have you seen a graduate that has refused to take care of the parents, community that saw him through college? Yorubas will say “won ma gegun fun ni- they`ll curse him”. We have been taught to take care of everyone as soon as we graduate from college and in a bid to fulfill that part of tradition we must get a job after college. Immediately. Otherwise, hunger will finish some people.
Nigeria is a nation far from seeing people graduate and not getting a job. Nothing. Absolutely nothing has been put in place to sustain whoever is not crazy about working after or immediately after college. In the nations we called “developed” so much is in place – You can afford to graduate from college and stay without a job for two years while working on developing your skills and living off credit facilities even with as much as $40,000.00 in student loan. Who will borrow a jobless skillful graduate money to work on his skills in Nigeria. Who will take care of you younger ones while you`re working on developing your skills?
Yes. We expect too much from the government. We expect too much from a nation that we live in. A nation that our fathers have served. Where do we turn to if we stop expecting from the government? Who do we go to?
I have been priviledged to see the way things are done where I reside and sometimes I tell my husband ” o o ri wipe awon eyan yi nyo” – This people are enjoying. I see what they demand for and what they expect from their government and because of my background, I `ve been thinking they`re getting too much attention from their government. They on the other hand think I`m out of this world and want to know which planet I`m from.
Nigeria will not sieze to expect much from the government they have put in place. The system is currupt and we have supported the currupt system by keeping quiet and doing nothing. I know the best help one can offer when one cannot really help is to do nothing but… Do we want to inherit these shoes of our fathers? I recently visited a Nigerian website belonging to one communication outfit and they have this words about NIPOST- POST IT NIPOST WORKS. Whoever cares to listen should listen to this- NIPOST DOESN’T WORK, I’VE POSTED IT!
I posted gift items to Nigeria and the first package was opened with the valuable items stolen. The next four packages I posted are still unaccounted for. Is someone trying to make me believe the government cannot do something about the depreciating systems? And, who is this government? Our fathers, our mothers, our brothers, our sisters!
If we are going to keep quiet and not expect the government to do stuffs for us do we have to keep quiet and watch them spoil what we have?
God has given us gifts to help us get through life. Dont you think we need some things to bring out the best in us? Like waking up in the morning to electricity, water, good food, good roads- good stuffs in life.
You know what? we need to start expect the government to keep our dreams and skills alive by providing whatever is needed by a graduate to excel outside of writing application letters and CVs. Our governments have killed dreams and skills and shouldn`t be left to think they can get away with it. Some of us have been fortunate to get jobs right after college and fortunate enough to know that we are fortunate. But are things right in Nigeria? Should we come up with solutions that will always work well with the government or the government should come up with solutions that will work with us?
SPEAK OUT!
Lai…I feel your pains.
But tell me, won’t we achieve more by focusing on that what we have direct control of?
In the words of Ghandi paraphrased, to change the world, we must start by being the change we want to see.
Its the same paradigm that makes politicians think they can spend on campaigns and reap the rewards in the coffers of the government. Why can’t they think of creating avenues for money for themselves and even the populace.
I think we might be too dependent on the government as a nation. I once heard that our president was complaining about the bureaucracy of governement. Who is the government? I think its just the comfortable feeling of having someone to blame for our woes. There is no government, you are the president of your soul.
Things might not be conducive, things might not be easy, but daily we see people around us, rising above the challenges, living above the storms. I don’t think we should settle for a mentality that makes us excusiologists.
What do you think?
This is a very interesting topic. I think graduates (even before they leave school) should know the areas they are good at and try to develop themselves in that area.
Keep up the good work Deolu.
this is a very instesting topic and its good to see it has sparked up a debate. truth is, most graduates wont have jobs waiting for them by the time they graduate and they have to find something to do. while i wont discount the value of formal education(yes, i feel it is very necessary), i’m however in complete agreement with deolu. the majority of nigerians have to do away with the mindset that sees a certificate as a meal ticket. life can be a lot more fun than that. i dont see the point in putting in between 8 and 12 or more hours a day, doing what you dont like, all in the pursuit of some ‘security’ that doesnt really exist anyway. the point is this, do what you love. if you dont love your job, find those things you love and do at least one of them everyday, whether you are paid to do it or not, all the while planning to move on to something else. your life will be more fulfilling. find what works and work on it.
Bros,
Na your hair style dey trip me.
Nice interview. My view is, there should be a “skill acquisition period” after getting a formal education, then you can think of creating jobs. To an extent, education & skills might be mutually exclusive.
Wait a minute guys is the Educational system the main problem here. I doubt that it is, it is a contributing factor but the problems are in the many other systems and they are affecting the educational system. I feel this problem needs a little more thought please
Great Job Deolu. I think Nigerians are gradually warming up to the idea of developing their innate skills and trying to earn a living from deploying these skills. However, I think a lot still has to be done by trying to ingrain this into our educational system and the society at large. This way people are able to enter into the market confident that they have what it takes to survive.
There’s a problem of identity crisis and value system in the country. We are so pre-occupied with issues that it is now difficult to think as normal people again.
In other countries, they have problems but they don’t die with their problems. They attempt to solve their problems.
I agree with Deolu that we expect too much from the government and the fact remains that he that is not delivered on his own can’t deliver a nation. That is what we have at the moment in the polity.
I wake up everyday and I know where I am going to meet traffic. It’s not a prediction again…constant as I know tomorrow is Saturday.
There are so many things that we can do which will be the beginning of a conflagration. We don’t need the government in that sense to maintain a clean neighbourhood. Poor (pure) water wastes fill the whole area. People in influential cars throw dirts off their cars. Still the government?
The government “to be” did a rally in Lagos and there was chaos. They were breaking all the laws of the land…are those the ones to deliver us? Can’t “Moses” and “Josephs” rise up within us or must we stay here till we die??
We don’t need to live, trying to please another person or meet up with the demands of the soceity, if we do, we will be too greedy. We need to discover ourselves and live based on that.
Can you imagine a Jay-jay Okocha struggling in a chemistry class and denying Nigeria of those his innate skills? Or a Roger Federer??
Wow…where do I start from.
I think others will need to respond to this as well.
One thing is however clear to me. We have all agreed that relying on government aint working. Even in the so called developed countries, countries like America are in for a suprise soon, they have 75 million baby bloomers getting retired soon, and believe me their government cannot take care of them. Federal Governments in many countries are getting bankrupt. Should we continue to look for help only in our own government? I think not.
Finishing from school expecting not to get a job means, finishing from school with sufficient foresight to say what will I do when I graduate, what else can I do rather than a job? When I finished from school, I started a small company with a friend the very next week, the business had one key competency, training people how to use computers. We had made presentations to to ASUU’s and SANU’s in some universities before we were both rudely interrupted by job opportunities. I believe recruiters are like bankers, bankers only loan you money when you seem like you have it, recruiters recruit when they also see it seems you have it (on your own).
We can’t keep making excuses for our government, true. But can’t we be part of the government if we want to be? I believe by focusing on what we can change, we can gain more responsibility. I have learnt never to hold anybody, or any system accountable for my life. I also believe that fortunate or luck is when preparation meets opportunity.
I found this an interesting topic and I must say that your responses are quite acceptable. I am particularly impressed with Deolu’s submission. It’s imperative that you acquire/possess a skill whether schooled or not to negotiate for employment or to start something on your own. The skills we are discussing here does not have to be a rocket science knowlegde or an ability out of this world to gain value. Ever heard of leveraging other people’s knowledge (OPK)? Simply, you can identify what others have done and improve on it in a way that give users additional value. The UK based Nigerian who refined phone ringtones leveraged on existing technology and never waited on any government to provide an idealistic enabling environment. Otunba Gaddafi, founder of Mobile toilets…..”Shit business is a serious business” is another reference that comes to mind. You would have succeeded in closing unemployment gaps not jut for one but many by putting your skill/ability to starting something. Please make sure you have passion for what you’re going into to for sustenance when adversities come.
It is paricularly disturbing to know the number of our youths especially graduates under the ‘Job Search Yoke’, and the most interesting twist is that if you tell most of “them” about the supremacy of skills, they will tell you it’s because you are privileged to have gotten a job or to come from a rich home or something.
You need to see the way our graduates are being treated at various recruitment centres and you will join our charade in support of skills anyday.
Hmm… Education vs skill. Someone i respect had a chat with the minister of education last week and said the minister with regret, said our educational system has no direct influence or effect on the nation’s economy. This means that people do not (generally) leave school and become assets that can improve the state of the nation, they just wait for things to ‘click for them’
I’m an advocate of acquiring a skill(s) you love as you get formal education, or even before!, because then, you can relate better with and apply what the books say, you even get a job faster that way! I had acquired 2 major skills before i graduated from University.
For the employed, if at any given time you suddenly lose your job and find yourself at a loss for what to do, then you’re not doing yourself much good. Acquire a skill, develop it into something that makes money for you, then you are getting there!
I honestly think education sucks when all you can do with it is sit from 9-5 for 30 days and wait for someone to pay u cowries. The picture of the Intercontinental test at opebi speaks of a lot, the message to the Nigerian youth is you are doomed only when you consider yourself, standing in line at that test venue was a 9ft grave that spelt doom for evryone who attended
Baba Ure,
Pple not coming out with the mentality of getting a job is good but the average fresh graduate is confused as per what to do immediately he comes out of school. We’ve been taught for so long to go to school, come out with a good grade and get a well paying job. To change that will be a total shift in paradigm. I think there needs to be an education for the “educated” along that line. I think it is worthy of note that those that do eventually get the “jobs” get them not necessarily cos of their formal education but cos of the skills and extra curricullar trainings they got in line of their duty (formal eduacation)
Apart from educating the pple who are in Higher Institutions right now, I think it would be a good idea to “start” with the really young whose minds have not been polluted and corrupted with “go to school and get a job”
I noticed the way you take style sell your book. I sure say pple don dey find am for market by now.
Hmmm…Tunrayo – How I take sell my book oh, I don’t think I’m doing a good job at selling it oh π
But truth, we need a total paradigm shift, and wether people are informed or not, the cold teacher called reality will teach many. It is also essential to start drumming it into the ears of the younger generation. (I think this is where my second book comes in :))
Wole – Well said, don’t we deserve more than this?
Tope – Well said, acquire skills during the course of formal education. position yourself.
Michael – You are so spot on. This is my thinking as well.
Abiola -Yes, the government is responsible. YES. but are they solely responsible? I think you need to complete your arguement. Yes, if anything good will happen to the larger community we’ll definitely need to vote in responsible people into government, but until then, should we fold our hands?
Education is important but I think getting certain Skills are very important. This day & age everybody has a ‘pali’ (certificate) but its your skills that distinguishes you. So get a skill today, sharpen that skill if you have one already.
My English not so good but thank for lovely site with information I looking for and need also.
I may be wrong but from the trend of reponses i get the idea that formal education is the last place to aquire skills.
You go to school basically to aquire skills. A student of medcine aquires medical skills, an accountant gets accounting skills.
Student should make sure they aquire the skills they are supposed to acquire.
There are some skills (interpersonal relationship,effective communication,presentation skills) regarded to as soft skills and are part of every company’s trainning package, taught in courses.
Deolu ure really doing a great job keep it up
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