The Tertiary Education Trust Fund, TETFund, has commenced the conduct of a National Employability Benchmarking Programme in Nigerian universities in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation, IFC, and other local partners.
Executive Secretary of TETFund, Sonny Echono, at a meeting on National Employability Benchmarking Programme in Abuja said the move was part of efforts to improve employability in the country and help steer higher education institutions towards better alignment with market needs.
He said they would also measure how tertiary institutions were establishing a baseline for employability, and potentially supporting the development of a strategic approach to sector intervention.
“IFC Vitae is a global first-of-a-kind, survey-based, diagnostic instrument which assesses, processes, structures and supports employability outcomes for higher education institutions.
“The program provides system and institutional-level insights that help identify key intervention areas that will enhance the employability ecosystem and improve graduate employability outcomes,” he said.
Echono lamented that Nigeria being a developing country was facing the challenge of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment which is at its highest level.
“The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has put Nigeria’s unemployment at 33.3%, while youth unemployment in the country is at 42.5% and youth under-employment is 21.0%.
“Besides, the 2022 Multidimensional Poverty Index recently released by the Bureau reveals that 133 million people in Nigeria are poor, living below the poverty line, which implies that 63% of persons living within Nigeria are multidimensionally poor,” he said.
The National Employability Benchmarking Programme is coordinated by TETFund with the support of the Federal Ministry of Education, and the National Universities Commission, NUC.
RN