Education industry leaders have urged students to acquire more than just academic credentials; they must also hone the soft qualities employers need in today’s workers.
The Guardian writes that they said that ensuring that Nigerian graduates gain skills relevant to 21st-century requirements is the key to tackling the nation’s unemployment woes.
This was the consensus among the presenters at StudyIn Nigeria’s 2025 Global Education Conference in Lagos.
At the event, officials from fifteen different international schools met with Nigerian students one-on-one to discuss admissions standards, available programs, and ways to get involved.
‘Degree with direction,’ the event’s topic said Olayinka David-West, dean of Lagos Business School. She noted that getting a degree isn’t about cramming for tests, but about developing skills and knowledge.
A degree gives pupils more insight into their direction, according to David-West, who was represented by Henry Ogundolire.
You need a degree with some kind of focus if you’re going to have any. We are living in a time when the traditional relationship between schooling and career prospects is being rethought. Having a degree is definitely not the end goal in today’s world of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The base is all that’s needed.
Every class you take isn’t merely about memorizing facts; it’s about developing your skills, he emphasized. “What really matters is what you can do with what you know,” he added.
According to Mary Agbu, Country Director of StudyIn Nigeria, the conference was organized with the goal of providing support to students attending institutions both in Nigeria and abroad. The goal was to help students become more knowledgeable and to help them study with purpose.
According to her, business owners are often griping about a skills gap as most students don’t have the qualifications that businesses are seeking.
Agbu also mentioned that many pupils feel there is no appropriate place for them to ask questions and get an answer.
She went on to say that students are looking for a platform that can help them connect with stakeholders so they can get the finest education possible and research their post-graduation job prospects.
Agbu urged all parties involved to work together to rethink education and careers from the ground up, and to start putting an emphasis on learning what works for individuals.
She emphasised that the purpose of the interaction was to inform prospective students about the opportunities and threats they would face and the various career paths that may lead them to their goals.
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