In 2023, a Lagos-based manufacturing company spent over six months searching for two chemical ecologists but was unable to find qualified candidates locally. After exhausting efforts to recruit from universities and polytechnics, the company eventually hired professionals from India, emphasizing a critical challenge in Nigeria’s labour market which is a widening gap between job seekers and industry needs.
Despite a high unemployment rate, many Nigerians remain jobless not due to a lack of vacancies, but because they lack the skills required by employers.
The 2025 Lagos Economic Development Update (LEDU) highlights a paradox in the Nigerian labour market. While there are 2,837 job vacancies on average each month, 3,318 job seekers compete for these roles. However, 816 job seekers (26%) lack both education and experience, reducing the pool of employable candidates to 2,502 individuals.
“While there are job openings, businesses cannot find candidates with the right skills,” said Ope George, Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.
This disconnect has left industries such as technology, renewable energy, and manufacturing struggling to fill critical roles, often recruiting from abroad or spending heavily on staff training.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.3% in the second quarter of 2024, a sharp decline from 33.3% in 2021 after the government adopted a new measurement system.
However, labour market experts argue that the true picture of unemployment remains hidden due to widespread underemployment and informal jobs. The World Bank estimates that 23 million Nigerians were either unemployed or underemployed in 2023, with youths being the most affected.
More alarming is the skills mismatch between education and job market demands. A Jobberman Foundation report found that six out of 10 Nigerian graduates lack the necessary skills for available roles.
For Michael Olaniyi, a 28-year-old Business Administration graduate, job hunting has been a frustrating journey.
“I have applied for over 200 jobs in the past two years, but I barely get responses. The few interviews I have attended usually end with, ‘you lack the required experience or technical skills,’” he said.
His experience mirrors that of many Nigerian graduates whose academic training fails to equip them with the practical skills employers demand.
This challenge is even greater in high-demand sectors such as technology, where companies struggle to hire skilled professionals in fields like software development, data analytics, and cybersecurity.
“We receive hundreds of applications for tech roles, but only a small fraction of candidates have the needed competencies,” said Chijioke Obi, HR Manager at a Lagos-based fintech firm.
Nigeria’s education system has remained largely unchanged for decades, with little emphasis on digital and practical skills. While some private universities and polytechnics have adapted to industry trends, most public institutions lag behind due to bureaucratic hurdles.
Additionally, many young Nigerians still see traditional university degrees as the only path to success, neglecting vocational and technical education. Yet, industries such as construction, automotive technology, and renewable energy are in desperate need of skilled workers.
In contrast, countries like Germany and China have successfully reduced unemployment by strengthening technical education, a model Nigeria has yet to fully implement.
The private sector plays a minimal role in shaping academic curricula, leading to a disconnect between what students learn and what employers need.
“Companies should partner with universities to offer internships and hands-on training, but this rarely happens,” said Aisha Bello, an Abuja-based education consultant.
While digital skills training programs exist, they are often too expensive for the average job seeker. A standard coding boot camp in Nigeria costs between ₦200,000 and ₦1 million, making them inaccessible to many youths. Meanwhile, government-funded training programs are either insufficient or lack quality, leaving self-learning as the only option for many aspiring professionals.
“If the skills gap continues to widen, the consequences will be severe,” warned Ofem Igot, Associate Professor of Educational Management at Lagos State University.
Youth unemployment and underemployment contributes to increased crime and social unrest, mass migration (Japa trend), as skilled professionals leave for better opportunities abroad and Nigeria’s declining competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Without urgent reforms, Nigeria risks falling behind in key industries such as digital finance, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy.
To address the crisis, Igot emphasized the need for these comprehensive reforms;
- Expand vocational and technical education with government funding and private sector collaboration.
- Remove the stigma around blue-collar jobs through awareness campaigns.
- Strengthen university-industry partnerships to create internship pipelines, mentorship programs, and job-ready curricula.
- Subsidize digital and technical training programs to make them more accessible.
Despite these challenges, some initiatives show promise.
The Nigerian government’s National Digital Economy Policy aims to train one million Nigerians in digital skills, while private-sector initiatives such as Microsoft’s Africa Development Center and Google’s Digital Skills for Africa are helping bridge the gap.
However, these efforts are not yet sufficient to meet the growing demand.
For job seekers like Michael Olaniyi, employment remains elusive. But with the right policies and collaborations, Nigeria can equip its workforce with the skills needed to drive economic growth and compete on a global scale.
