Unpopular Opinion; Tertiary Education Is Not Near Enough

‘’47% of Nigerian University graduates are unemployed’’
-Jobberman

Nigeria higher education system is estimated to produce up to 1.9million graduates every year. Of these staggering number, almost a million are unemployed. Employers lament that most of these graduates are ‘unemployable’, they attained knowledge in abstraction and are without the skills required to be relevant in a value-oriented labour market.

With a population of about 200million people, Nigeria has human capital as one of its most potent and unexploited resources. The brightest of this population are expected to be the educated populace but lack of quality education, absent personal motivation and limited opportunities has condemned their viable potentials to redundancy.

A large number of Nigerian youths graduate are without a concrete knowledge of their own value. Beyond the four walls of the classroom, skills must be honed and put into practice and in the face of Nigeria’s epileptic economy and chronic unemployment, it is imperative to acquire peculiar skills that would enhance personal growth and relevance.

Design as a Solution to Youth Unemployment and an Alternate Pathway to Societal Growth

Mbari Uno is a platform, a community that is proposing ‘Design’ as an efficient means of exploiting these potentials. This is a vibrant community that is willing and fully-equipped to provide practical opportunities for design education and practice. To make impactful social change, we must drive innovations, develop human capacity and build solutions that are practical and sustainable. The process to achieving this is a vivid imagination and a diverse education. In digital design, process design, space design, product designs and other design categories, the development of the self must come first.

Consequently, this is a call to Nigerians and Africans; the youthful, vibrant and imaginative; those who see an Africa beyond the rot; those who wish for an exodus from the current static dependence on western knowledge and ideas. Mbari Uno provides a vibrant ecosystem viable enough to inspire, teach and unleash the next set of societal changers and designers- all that is left is the initiative required to take advantage of this opportunity.

Therefore, take advantage of our ongoing workshops and trainings and equip yourself with the practical skills needed to remain relevant in the competitive labour market. Visit our Enterprise page to partake in programmes that are best suited for you.