Perspectives of Nigerian Graduates on Curriculum Reengineering, Acquisition of Emerging Technologies, and Job Creation: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Curriculum reengineering, web-based technology acquisition, and job creation among Nigerian tertiary institution graduates were all examined in this research. The researchers used a descriptive survey design following the quantitative research approach. The study included all Nigerian graduates eligible for national service or its exemption who earned their diplomas or degrees between 2016 and 2021. The data was gathered via an online survey titled "Curriculum Re-engineering, Acquisition of Emerging Technologies, and Job Creation Questionnaire (CRAETJCQ). To assemble the data for this study, we used a snowball method. There were 4,874 replies countrywide after four months of data collection; however, only 4,628 responses satisfied the data analysis conditions after screening out irrelevant responses. Results indicated low curriculum reengineering in Nigerian postsecondary institutions. Nigerian graduates had a poor adoption of new web-based technologies but are increasingly using them for word processing, graphics, data science and data analysis. Nevertheless, only a few graduates employed emerging techs for other purposes (such as printing, YouTube video creation, course design and development, software development, digital marketing, online advertising, and consumer outreach). Although 58.30 per cent of graduates reported having not created any job, 41.70 per cent have done so between 2016 and 2021. Of the 1,930 graduates who owned at least one small or medium enterprise, 58.96% had no employees, whereas 41.04% had hired at least one employee between 2016 and 2021. The graduates' job creation index was estimated to be approximately 50% using a new formula. Based on these results, conclusions and recommendations were made.

Skill Acquisition Training and Unemployment Reduction among Youths in Cross River State, Nigeria

“…The pervasive issue of youth unemployment has deeply permeated societal structures. Serving as a crucial economic indicator, unemployment signifies the challenge faced by young individuals in securing meaningful employment to contribute to the overall productivity of the economy (Odigwe et al, 2018;Owan et al, 2022a). The roots of this problem, as identified by Ekong and Ekong (2016), can be traced back to the 1970s oil boom era, during which the Nigerian government shifted its focus from skill acquisition to diversifying entrepreneurship practices.…”