UNESCO, FG, NBTE Seek Human-Centred Digital Transformation of Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training System
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), the Federal Government and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) have called for a fundamental digital transformation of Nigeria’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, stressing that technology must ultimately translate into jobs, productivity, innovation and greater opportunities for young Nigerians.
The call was made on Tuesday in Abuja at the Validation Workshop on the National Strategy for the Digital Transformation of TVET and Skills Development System in Nigeria.
The two-day workshop, holding from August 11 to 12 at the United Nations House, Abuja, brought together senior government officials, regulators, TVET institutions, development partners, academia, industry and other stakeholders to review and validate the proposed national strategy.
The Head of UNESCO Office and UNESCO Representative to Nigeria, Dr. Isaias Barreto da Rosa, said the world of work was changing at an unprecedented pace as digital technologies, automation and artificial intelligence transformed occupations and altered the skills required by economies and societies.
Barreto da Rosa, who was making one of his first official engagements since assuming office as UNESCO Representative to Nigeria, said TVET could no longer remain static.
“TVET must anticipate change rather than simply react to it,” he said.
According to him, Nigeria’s TVET system had enormous potential to expand opportunities for young people, strengthen employability and entrepreneurship, support innovation and contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
He, however, said the potential could only be realised if there was a strong connection between what people learn, the skills employers require and opportunities created by the changing economy.
The UNESCO representative described the national strategy as an important roadmap, but warned that its validation should not become an end in itself.
“Our task is not simply to validate a document. It is to ensure that Nigeria has a Strategy that is relevant, realistic and capable of producing measurable results,” he said.
He said a strategy became meaningful only when it changed what happened in institutions, classrooms, workshops, communities and workplaces.
Barreto da Rosa identified some of the challenges that must be addressed, including poor connectivity and unreliable electricity, inadequate access to digital infrastructure and devices, limited digital competencies among teachers, instructors and learners, sustainable financing, weak institutional coordination and insufficient alignment between training and labour-market needs.
He also warned that digital transformation must not deepen existing inequalities.
According to him, learners from disadvantaged and low-income communities must have access to opportunities created by digital technologies.
He said the central principle guiding the transformation should be that “digital transformation must ultimately be about people, not technology.”
“Technology is a means, not an end,” he added.
The UNESCO representative said the success of the strategy should therefore not be measured by the number of computers acquired or digital platforms created, but by whether young Nigerians acquired relevant skills and found decent work, whether instructors became better equipped to teach, whether institutions responded more effectively to industry needs and whether technology expanded opportunities for people who might otherwise be excluded.
He further emphasised partnership, saying no single institution could achieve digital transformation of TVET alone.
He called for stronger government leadership and institutional coordination, empowered teachers and trainers, active participation by employers and the private sector, and collaboration with development partners, academia and civil society.
Barreto da Rosa challenged participants to move beyond broad aspirations and focus on implementation.
“Let us ask not only what needs to be done, but also who will do it, how it will be financed, when it will be delivered, and how we will measure success,” he said.
He reaffirmed UNESCO’s commitment to working with the Nigerian government and other partners to build an inclusive, innovative and future-ready TVET and skills development system.
The Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, also described digital transformation of TVET as a national priority.
Alausa, who was represented by one of the directors in the ministry, said the Federal Ministry of Education, under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, was implementing reforms to strengthen technical education, expand digital learning opportunities, modernise training infrastructure, deepen industry partnerships and equip young Nigerians with digital, technical and entrepreneurial competencies.
“For Nigeria, the digital transformation of TVET is not merely an aspiration; it is a national priority,” the minister said.
He said TVET remained central to Africa’s aspirations for inclusive economic growth, industrialisation, innovation and sustainable development.
However, he noted that TVET systems must embrace digital technologies, modern pedagogies, data-driven governance and stronger industry partnerships to remain responsive to changing labour-market requirements.
Alausa stressed the need for investment in digital infrastructure, modern curricula, teacher capacity development and innovative learning platforms, saying Nigeria needed graduates who were not only employable but innovative, adaptable and capable of creating jobs.
The Director, Technology and Science Education Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Patricia Ogungbemi, said digital transformation had become fundamental to keeping technical schools relevant.
Ogungbemi said Nigeria was already prioritising TVET modernisation through curriculum reforms, integration of digital technologies into teaching and learning, instructor capacity development, promotion of innovation and entrepreneurship, and stronger partnerships with industry and development partners.
She said the efforts were aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Continental Education Strategy for Africa and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 4 on inclusive and equitable quality education.
She urged participants to use the validation exercise to share best practices and ensure that the final framework reflected the realities, priorities and aspirations of African countries.
The Executive Secretary of the NBTE, Prof. Idris Bugaje, said Nigeria could no longer regard digital transformation as an option.
“For Nigeria, digital transformation is no longer an option; it is an imperative,” Bugaje said.
He identified artificial intelligence, cloud computing, robotics, the Internet of Things, extended reality and learning analytics as technologies already reshaping economies, workplaces and the acquisition, assessment and certification of skills.
He said TVET systems must evolve rapidly to prepare learners for the demands of the Fourth and Fifth Industrial Revolutions.
Bugaje, who was represented by a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Education, Gbemisola Olaniyan, disclosed that NBTE had deployed a Digital Quality Assurance system to improve regulatory efficiency and transparency and had institutionalised Open, Distance and Flexible eLearning to expand access to quality technical education.
He also disclosed that the board had developed and unveiled a National Diploma curriculum in Artificial Intelligence, complementing the existing Higher National Diploma programme in AI.
The NBTE boss said the board’s Centre of Excellence was strengthening the digital competencies of TVET educators and promoting AI-supported development of Open Educational Resources.
He added that NBTE was working with strategic partners, including the Commonwealth of Learning, Cisco Networking Academy and Huawei ICT Academy, to promote innovation and digital transformation.
Bugaje, however, stressed that the transformation should not be reduced to technology acquisition.
“Our collective focus should not merely be on adopting new technologies, but on transforming our institutions, strengthening governance, building educator capacity, promoting innovation, expanding access, and ensuring that every Nigerian learner acquires the competencies needed to thrive in an increasingly digital and interconnected world,” he said.
The Secretary-General of the Nigerian National Commission for UNESCO (NATCOM-UNESCO), Dr. Lateef Olagunju, said the strategy could help address Nigeria’s skills gaps, youth unemployment and changing labour-market demands.
Olagunju said a digitally transformed TVET system would better prepare young people for employment, entrepreneurship and lifelong learning while improving the relevance of training to industry needs.
He said the strategy would support the integration of digital technologies into teaching, learning and assessment, strengthen the digital competencies of instructors and learners, and expand access to quality skills training, including through technology-enabled learning.
He further linked the strategy to Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy and the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDGs 4, 8 and 9.
He however, warned that validation must be followed by implementation.
“The success of this Strategy will depend not only on its validation but on our collective resolve to translate its recommendations into concrete actions, sustained investments and measurable outcomes,” he said.
The convergence of the positions of UNESCO, the Federal Ministry of Education, NBTE and NATCOM-UNESCO reflects a growing consensus that Nigeria’s TVET system requires more than incremental reforms.
The stakeholders are calling for a comprehensive transformation involving infrastructure, electricity and connectivity, curricula, teacher training, digital quality assurance, financing, institutional governance, industry partnerships and equitable access.
The challenge now is to translate the strategy into an actionable roadmap with clearly defined responsibilities, financing mechanisms, timelines and measurable indicators.
As Barreto da Rosa put it, the ultimate objective should be to prepare Nigeria’s young people “for the jobs of today, the opportunities of tomorrow and a future that will be increasingly digital.”
The success of the strategy will therefore depend not merely on how effectively Nigeria adopts emerging technologies, but on whether those technologies improve the quality and relevance of skills training and create tangible economic opportunities for millions of young Nigerians.
