Obaseki blames employment crisis on lack of skills

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said the employment crisis in Nigeria is compounded, not because of lack of education, but the wide gap between knowledge and skills.
The governor, who spoke while receiving some youths said as such, one of the major focuses of his government was to increase the quality of education through knowledge and skills acquisition.

Represented by Mr. Taiwo Akerele, the state’s Chief of Staff, Obaseki said: “We have so many unemployed youths across Nigeria, not because they are not educated but because of the gap between acquiring knowledge and acquiring skills.”


Governor Obaseki also assured the people of the state’s readiness to invest in human capital development for effective quality human resources that would guarantee speedy development, saying, “Edo State Government is willing to bridge this gap and increase the quality of education in the state. We are investing in Tayo Akpata University of Education to make it a reference point for teacher training in the country. We will also be investing in technical education and Benin Technical College will serve as a platform to bridge the gap between manpower and industrialization.’’

The governor said government would continue to encourage the youths to take advantage of the opportunity being provided by the present administration to empower them, assuring that his electioneering promises of creating 200,000 jobs for the youths of the state was realizable.

He urged youths to acquire knowledge and build positive network to contribute to national development, assuring that his administration would look into the issue of bursary and scholarship for students in the state.