Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Andrew Dabalen
THE WORLD BANK
and
Bankole Oni
NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC RESEARCH
with
Olatunde A. Adekola
THE WORLD BANK
Background study conducted to inform the design of
the Nigeria University System Innovation Project
November 2000
LIST OF ACRONYMS
AKTH Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital
DPC Development Policy Centre
IBADAN POLY The Polytechnic, Ibadan
IITA International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
MAN Manufacturers Association of Nigeria
NACCIMA Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce,
Industries, Manufacturing and Agriculture
NDE National Directorate of Employment
NECA Nigerian Employers Consultative Association
NISER Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research
NUC National Universities Commission
NYSC National Youth Service Corps
OAU Obafemi Awolwo University
OSU Ogun State University
UNIBEN University of Benin
UNILAG University of Lagos
UNN University of Nigeria, Nsukka
YABA TECH Yaba College of Technology
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Are university graduates in Nigeria adequately educated? This question is hotly debated by
the public and the press. It is a question of particular concern to graduates who are seeking
employment and to employers who consider hiring them.
Graduates complain of high levels of unemployment. The situation is of such concern that
hundreds of unemployed university graduates mounted a demonstration in front of the
presidential offices (Aso Rock) on October 18, 2000. They demanded that government
provide them with jobs.
Employers complain that graduates are poorly prepared for work. They believe that
academic standards have fallen considerably over the past decade and that a university
degree is no longer a guarantee of communication skills or technical competence. As a
result, university graduates are commonly viewed as "half baked."
Stories and jokes abound in Nigeria regarding the supposed shortcomings of university
graduates. Yet empirical information and reports are rare. What is the real situation? Is
graduate unemployment a serious problem? How do employers assess the qualifications of
current degree-holders? How well do graduates perform when they are able to obtain
employment?
These concerns have prompted the present study. It seeks to answer these and other
questions regarding the levels of graduate preparedness for productive employment. The
answers will be critical for understanding Nigeria's longer term prospects for economic
growth based on the skills and productivity of its work force. The study was conducted
during June - August 2000. It is based on an analysis of available labor statistics and
extensive interviews with managers from 55 public enterprises, private firms, professional
associations and non-governmental organizations.
The analysis of labor statistics indicates that the unemployment rate for university graduates
may be around 25 percent and that their prospects for employment have worsened over time.
In addition, the share of graduates going into the public sector has fallen drastically.
The messages conveyed by these managers of surveyed firms are clear:
??University graduates are poorly trained and unproductive on the job.
??Graduateskillshavesteadilydeterioratedoverthepastdecade.
??Shortcomings are particularly severe in oral and written communication, and in
applied technical skills.
In many cases, employers compensate for insufficient academic preparation by organizing
remedial courses for new employees. This increases the firms' operating costs, and reduces
their profitability and competitiveness.
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria1
Context performance have been mismanagement
and misguided policy choices. But
With half the population of West Africa unstable prices for petroleum � Nigeria's
and vast natural resource endowments, only real source of export earnings � have
Nigeria holds the potential to be the contributed to these twin problems.
source of growth and prosperity for the Windfall profits from oil price swings
whole region. Instead, economic have encouraged wasteful expenditures in
performance has been erratic and fallen the public sector and distorted the revenue
short of expectations (see Table 1). bases for policy planning. A case in point
Today 66 percent of Nigeria's citizens is the spending boom following the sharp
live below the international poverty line oil price increase in the 1970s, and the
of one dollar a day. This is a substantial associated overvalued exchange rate that
increase from 45 percent in 1985. The led to a collapse of agricultural exports
main causes of this poor economic (WORLD BANK: 2000).
Table 1. Nigeria: Key Economic Indicators
Actual Estimated
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Real growth Rates
GDP 0.1 2.5 4.3 2.7 1.8 0.8
Oil GDP -2.6 2.5 6.9 1.4 -1.8 -3.0
Non-oil GDP 1.6 2.4 2.9 3.4 3.8 3.5
GNP per capita $220 $210 $240 $270 $290 $300
(US dollars)
Terms of trade (1995=100) 102 100 163 119 87 NA
Real Exchange Rate 118 100 124 142 156 82.0
(1995=100)
SOURCE: Nigeria Country Assistance Strategy ( World Bank 2000)
1Acknowledgement: We wish to express our gratitude to Professor Munzali Jibril (Executive Secretary,
National Universities Commission) and William Saint (Principal Education Specialist, World Bank) for
initiating and supporting this study. During the study we received generous help and excellent cooperation
from many individuals, organizations and businesses in Nigeria. These are too numerous to list here but are
shown in Annex 2. We thank all those who gave us their time and invaluable insights, particularly at the NUC,
National Manpower Board (NMB), and the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC).
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
F i g u r e 1 : P e r s t u d e n t E x p e n d i t u r e s
45000
40000
35000
30000
Expenditures
25000
Current
and 20000 Current Naira
Naira)
15000
(1987
Real 10000
5000
R e a l ( 1 9 8 7 N a i r a )
0
1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Year
Poor economic performance has punished (local, state and federal) are involved and
the social sectors. Large swings in public statistics are of uncertain reliability,
revenues have led to unpredictable and available information indicates that
inconsistent financing of education. Nigeria's education sector has been
Although estimating public expenditures allocated a declining share of GNP over
on education in Nigeria is very difficult the past two decades (see Table 2.).
because three layers of governments
Table 2. Total Public Expenditure on Education as Percent of GNP
1980 1985 1990 1995 1997
Nigeria 6.4 1.2 1.0 0.7 0.7
Ghana 3.1 2.6 3.3 4.8 4.2
Kenya 6.8 6.4 7.1 6.7 6.5
South Africa -- 6.0 6.5 6.8 7.9
Sub-Saharan Africa 4.2
Low-income Countries 3.7
SOURCE: EdStats, World Bank (the 1997 figures are unweighted group average.)
A major victim of the decline in financing systemic under-funding and declining
for education has been higher education quality of higher education. This study
(see figure 1). Although the higher explores how these systemic changes have
education problems drawing the greatest affected the quality and relevance of the
public attention tend to be persistent academic preparation of university
unrest on campuses and the rise of anti- graduates, and their consequences for
social behaviors, it is generally believed employers and for national economic
that these phenomena are responses to growth prospects.
2
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Why Focus on Higher Education? Is the country receiving value for money
from its federal university system? Are
Compelling incentives exist for Nigeria to university graduates in Nigeria adequately
examine the quality of its higher educated? This question is hotly debated
education. The most important reason is by the public and the press. It is a
that higher education is crucial for question of particular concern to the
economic growth. Current theories of graduates who seek employment and to
long run growth identify two ways in the employers who consider hiring them.
which this happens. One way is that
highly skilled workers drive technological Graduates complain of high levels of
innovations through research which in unemployment. The situation is of such
turn lead to larger social productivity concern that hundreds of unemployed
increases. The other way is that � even in university graduates mounted a
the absence of significant research output demonstration in front of the presidential
� a country with a highly skilled labor offices (Aso Rock) on October 18, 2000.
force has better chances of growing than They demanded that government provide
one with a lesser skilled workforce. This them with jobs.
is because skilled workers are more able
to learn by doing and therefore to adopt Employers complain that graduates are
new skills and technologies that are poorly prepared for work. They believe
crucial for productivity increases. that academic standards have fallen
considerably over the past decade and that
Nigeria's tertiary education sector a university degree is no longer a
comprises 43 federal, state and private guarantee of communication skills or
universities. The 24 federal institutions technical competence. As a result,
are expected to consume roughly USD university graduates are commonly
252 million in public funding each year viewed as "half baked."
from 2001.2 What does the country
receive in return for this investment? Stories and jokes abound in Nigeria
Briefly, the country receives more than regarding the supposed shortcomings of
50,000 graduates annually. It would cost university graduates. Yet empirical
an estimated USD 4,500 to produce each information and reports are rare. What is
graduate.3 the real situation? Is graduate
unemployment a serious problem? How
2 do employers assess the qualifications of
The total amount of recurrent and capital grants
provided to universities by the NUC in 1999 (See current degree-holders? How well do
Hartnett (2000)) was USD 113 (USD 1=100 graduates perform when they are able to
Naira). However, recent increases in the salaries obtain employment?
of civil servants and academic staff will push the
number to USD 900 per student in year 2001. In Let us seek the answers to these questions
arriving at the annual subventions to the
universities, we assume a current student by looking first at the supply of university
population of 280,000. graduates in Nigeria.
3 Based on the assumption that the average
graduate requires five years to complete his or her
degree, and that government expenditure per
student over the period averages the equivalent of
USD 900 each year.
3
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Supply of Skilled Workers in Total Supply: Enrollment Trends
Nigeria
Total enrollment of undergraduates in
In all modern economies, universities are Nigeria rose from 74,331 in 1980 to
the places where specialized human 275,515 in 1998 (Table 3). This implies a
resources are developed. Therefore, they growth rate of 15 percent per year during
play a crucial role in generating the the period. By world standards, this is
human capacities for leadership, quite high. In the 1990s alone, enrollment
management and technical expertise. numbers nearly doubled, increasing from
From this point of view access to 147,121 in 1990 to 275,515 in 1998. A
university education, as reflected in more sensitive indicator of enrollment
enrollment levels, generally provides an growth in universities is the number of
indicator of a country's production of first time entrants rather than total
skilled personnel. enrollments, especially when graduation
Table 3. Total Enrollment by Institution and Year
Institution 80/81 81/82 82/83 84/85 86/87 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96
IBADAN 7,817 9,712 11,140 13,862 12,000 13,858 14,632 15,428 15,914 18,127
LAGOS 8,690 8,575 9,055 10,126 11,713 14,068 14,508 14,867 12,905 14,942
NSUKKA 10,291 11,838 12,813 12,417 13,593 18,557 18,408 19,429 20,241 21,852
ZARIA 14,767 15,526 18,295 17,561 16,227 20,954 25,203 30,619 34,610 34,380
IFE 10,988 11,984 12,362 12,997 13,582 15,011 15,610 16,065 18,145 19,959
BENIN 5,973 7,159 8,313 9,688 10,413 15,435 15,810 17,678 18,122 20,058
JOS 3,047 3,933 4,284 5,769 6,315 14,561 16,177 13,823 14,230 11,900
CALABAR 2,798 3,892 4,320 4,871 5,154 8,634 9,700 11,356 11,108 14,122
KANO 2,479 2,851 3,314 4,142 4,264 8,277 9,288 11,227 11,466 11,706
MAID. 2,569 3,244 3,130 6,167 7,450 9,200 9,931 10,000 10,280 10,342
SOKOTO 883 1,366 1,949 3,299 3,487 5,171 6,060 6,060 6,707 8,480
ILORIN 2,010 2,784 4,028 5,411 5,817 9,805 11,637 13,519 13,565 14,052
P/HARC. 2,019 2,582 2,849 3,786 4,787 10,825 9,054 10,476 11,426 8,250
UYO** 9,954 9,304 10,697 9,436
AWKA** 6,540 6,833 6,272 5,698 5,904
ABUJA 597 970 1,313 1,347 1,777
OWERRI 364 693 1,281 3,940 5,427 5,244 5,004 5,564
AKURE 149 419 907 2,096 2,666 3,151 3,202 4,839
MINNA 305 568 2,073 2,852 4,326 3,646 3,907
BAUCHI 263 512 1,131 2,604 2,836 2,995 2,893 3,704
YOLA 128 464 2,561 3,515 4,396 5,055 4,910
MAKURDI** 195 325 915 1,394 2,684
ABEOK.** 602 2,106 2,755
UMUDIKE** 331
TOTAL 74,331 85,904 97,330 111,513 120,670 198,221 210,421 218,244 236,261 253,981
NOTES: Zaria 1988/89 reported underagraduates only adapted from TABLE 4.1 Enrollment by Discipline1991/92
Adapted from NUC, Table 1-analysis of total full time enrollment adapted from Nigerian Federally Funded Univ, Table 1 93/94
86/87 adapted from NUC Statistical Digest, Table 1 adapted from Actual headcount enrollment 94/95
Adapted from Table 1.3, Total Enrollment by Discipline 1988/89 adapted from Tables showing enrollment 1995-1999
4
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
rates are significantly less than 100 Between 1991 and 1997, the number of
percent. Evidence shows that new new entrants increased by 35 percent � an
admissions also rose sharply (Table 4). average of 5 percent per year.
Table 4. New Entrants by Institution and Year
Ave.
Institution 80/81 81/82 82/83 83/84 84/85 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90 90/91 91/92 96/97 97/98 98/99 Annual
Growth
'90-'99
IBADAN 3,834 4,570 4,793 4,787 5,234 4,163 3,849 4,602 3,993 3,909 4,501 9,945 13,993 4,309 1.09%
LAGOS 3,634 3,715 3,250 3,221 3,999 5,758 4,792 4,600 5,079 5,079 4,682 10,757 11,036 6,892 3.45%
NSUKKA 3,970 3,005 3,146 2,745 3,316 3,140 3,385 3,967 4,369 5,094 6,430 9,126 8,596 4,645 -1.02%
ZARIA 3,775 4,821 6,360 6,815 7,516 5,086 5,452 4,531 6,071 6,071 6,857 7,623 7,709 6,635 0.99%
IFE 4,023 2,812 3,258 3,310 3,479 4,112 2,504 3,820 3,870 4,542 3,114 6,400 6,978 2,760 -5.38%
BENIN 2,984 3,043 1,297 3,051 3,740 2,753 2,526 2,959 3,590 2,982 5,581 9,993 5,913 4,482 4.63%
JOS 951 1,179 1,405 1,055 1,605 2,365 3,111 3,150 2,809 4,528 6,160 6,107 5,073 1,944 -8.97%
CALABAR 1,085 1,016 935 1,523 1,455 1,793 1,629 1,684 2,263 3,250 3,551 4,859 4,531 4,635 4.02%
KANO 991 746 853 1,080 1,717 1,260 1,413 2,181 2,488 3,327 3,459 4,088 4,243 3,321 -0.02%
MAID. 212 336 1,058 1,747 1,670 1,708 2,524 2,406 1,854 2,597 2,763 5,079 3,754 3,888 4.59%
SOKOTO 442 672 905 1,159 1,558 793 1,022 1,748 1,755 1,521 1,373 5,533 3,165 2,500 5.68%
ILORIN 927 1,240 1,753 1,595 1,746 1,485 2,016 2,669 2,266 2,905 3,165 2,417 2,830 2,954 0.19%
P/HARC. 1,157 1,158 457 1,393 1,847 1,847 2,558 2,921 2,684 2,443 3,055 2,681 2,367 3,860 5.21%
UYO 2,136 3,811 2,417 2,037 4,016 7.27%
AWKA 381 1,228 1,585 1,602 1,623 3.55%
ABUJA 224 298 1,191 1,030 1,294 21.52%
OWERRI 224 350 143 273 307 388 631 549 860 1,041 1,059 809 1,755 8.25%
AKURE 93 123 130 271 220 431 386 602 616 502 632 998 5.78%
MINNA 496 136 252 700 346 346 511 444 1,412 16.91%
BAUCHI 263 267 248 268 320 440 412 811 505 635 210 257 1,155 9.63%
YOLA 464 382 519 295 463 766 222 222 1,389 12.98%
MAKURDI 109 187 268 95 249 253 200 204 454 454 125 160
ABEOK. 287 425 769 355 319 739 739 115 98
UMUDIKE 45 42
TOTAL 27,985 28,909 30,367 34,263 39,935 39,176 39,369 44,038 46,355 54,577 64,625 92,590 87,521 66,467
% Growth X 3% 5% 13% 17% 6% 0% 12% 5% 18% 18% 1177% -5% 3%
Per Year
Adapted from Statistical Information on Nigerian Universities (Oct.1997) Section B, Tables B1 -B12
5
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
This phenomenal expansion of the student Although high enrollments suggest a large
population was experienced by all supply of skilled labor, high repetition and
institutions and regions. However, some drop-outs could undermine the expected
differences are observed. In general, first flow of such workers. Data on repetition
generation universities experienced and drop-out rates within the federal
significantly lower than average (5 university system are not available. As a
percent) enrollment growth rates.4 result, it is difficult to predict what
Between 1991 and 1998, enrollments in proportion of an incoming cohort will
these elite first generation universities graduate as skilled professionals within
increased by an average of just 1.4 percent the expected time. Fortunately, this does
per year. Although the second generation not pose a problem because data on the
universities had stronger enrollment actual number of labor market entrants are
growth than first generation universities, available.
their rates were still a modest 2.6 percent
per year over the same period. In An estimate of the real supply of skilled
contrast, the third generation universities labor is presented in Table 6. In 1986,
displayed annual enrollment growth rates federal universities alone supplied 27,312
around 10 percent. Among regions, the job-seekers with degree training. Five
highest enrollment growth rates (about 8 years later (1991), this output had risen to
percent) occurred in the North-East and over 41,000. By 1997, annual labor
South-South. Below average growth rates market entrants with a university
were observed in the South-East (3 education had topped 47,000. It is
percent) during these years. important to bear in mind that these
figures are lower bound estimates because
A breakdown of the student population by in addition to federal universities,
gender is shown in Table 5. Between numerous state universities also send
1991 and 1997, the population of male graduates into the labor market.
students grew by 42 percent (or about 6 Moreover, supply will increase further if
percent per year ). Over the same period,
5 post-graduate entrants are counted.
the population of female students rose by
66 percent. Consequently, the proportion
of female students in the population of all Supply of Critical Skills.
students increased from 27 percent in
1991 to 33 percent in 1997. The composition of skills (i.e.,
specializations) that entered the labor
market between 1986 and 1996 is given in
Table 7. At the beginning of the period,
4First generation universities include Ibadan, the largest share of labor market entrants
Lagos, Nsukka, Zaria, Ife, and Benin. The second with university education found
generation universities are Jos, Calabar, Kano, employment in the education sector (30
Maiduguri, Sokoto, Ilorin and Port Harcourt. The percent), followed by general social
remainder make up the third generation sciences (16 percent) and natural sciences
universities.
5Notice that there is a significant discrepancy in (10 percent). Strikingly, this skill mix
student population total in Table 3 and that in remained unchanged for a decade � until
Table 5 in 97/98. This may be due to an the end of 1996.
undercount of female students in Ife and or Port
Harcourt.
6
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Table 5. Enrollment by Gender
Institution 86/87 88/89 91/92 95/96 96/97 97/98
M F M F M F M F M F M F
IBADAN 8770 3230 8675 3311 9889 3968 11994 6133 13792 7469 13976 8453
LAGOS 8354 3359 12767 4744 9657 4411 9490 5452 10383 6458 10469 7409
NSUKKA 10566 3027 10538 3362 12695 5862 13134 8718 13134 8719 12526 10563
ZARIA 12926 3301 8808 2312 20954 0 34380 26219 5790 12364 5457
IFE 10492 3090 10187 2988 11576 3435 14027 5932 14474 5429 11832 5468
BENIN 7468 2945 7575 3093 9606 5829 15038 5020 14567 13469 7369
JOS 4545 1770 6487 2776 10397 4164 7871 4029 8067 4169 6926 4119
CALABAR 3809 1345 3778 1376 5986 2648 9131 4991 8111 5138 9089 6348
KANO 3697 567 4379 799 6523 1754 11706 9771 878 7891 3543
MAID. 5611 1839 4874 2140 7115 2085 7455 2887 9171 4368 8155 2964
SOKOTO 3051 436 3157 642 3405 587 6714 1766 7110 1933 7110 1933
ILORIN 4560 1257 5255 1383 7437 2368 9865 4187 11006 4821 10454 4964
P/HARC. 3674 1113 5060 1912 5931 4894 5162 3088 8776 6163 8758 4400
UYO 6035 3919 5740 3696 7619 4832 6673 5510
AWKA 3450 3090 3374 2530 3586 2510 3586 2510
ABUJA 348 249 1777 3961 3864 0
OWERRI 1188 93 1725 200 2733 1207 4476 1088 4223 1068 5384 1351
AKURE 788 119 1126 180 1811 285 4051 788 4978 966 5466 995
MINNA 477 91 650 109 2073 0 3283 624 3702 740 3584 703
BAUCHI 971 160 1514 485 2041 563 2686 1018 3465 810 4844 935
YOLA 374 90 639 140 2081 480 4250 660 4125 426 5459 581
MAKURDI 776 139 773 123 1180 214 2285 399 2291 400 2076 375
ABEOK. 467 135 901 326 1536 570 747 747 2046 768 2071 1001
UMUDIKE 220 111 329 172 513 278
Total 92,564 28,106 98,868 32,401 121,432 52,582 140,993 63,864 176,378 74,027 172,675 87,229
Combined 120,670 131,269 197,041 252,720 268,933 263,768
SOURCE:
86/87 adapted from NUC Statistical Digest, Table 1
80-85 adapted from World Bank (1988), Table A-6
97/98 adapted from NUC: total enrollment by institution.
Grand Totals conflict with Figures recorded on worksheet titled "Total Student Enrollment by Institution and Year"
7
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
For a populous country such as Nigeria, constant, a worrying trend in these other
where delivery of education services is an disciplines is that student enrollment
urgent matter, it is not surprising that numbers have remained stagnant. In a
many of the university graduates are country with strong population growth,
absorbed into the education sector. this should give cause for concern.
However, increases in the supply of other
crucial skills such as medicine, pharmacy, Judging by the size of graduate output, the
agriculture, and engineering have been evidence from Table 7 suggests a
much less dramatic. For example, tendency for the federal universities to
whereas the proportion of students produce fewer graduates in critical areas.
enrolled in engineering and technology In 1996, education and social sciences
increased from 9 to 12 percent between supplied 12,390 and 9,201 graduates
1991 and 1996 (see Tables 8a and 8b), the respectively. In contrast, science-related
share of engineers among graduates majors who entered the labor market that
remained at about 6 percent during the year were about 7,000. The numbers were
same period. Likewise, the proportion of even much smaller in more specialized
graduates with skills in important professional disciplines. Just 2,402
disciplines such as agriculture (5 percent), graduates of medicine, 405 pharmacists
medicine (5 percent), and veterinary and only 275 veterinary medical graduates
medicine (0.6 percent) appear to be less were produced for a nation of 120 million
than the share of students enrolled in these persons. The small numbers of graduates
disciplines (see Tables 8a and 8b). But in some critical areas should be a source
unlike engineering where enrollments of concern if Nigeria has a shortage of
increased even as the proportion of these skills.
engineers among graduates remained
8
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Table 6. Total Graduate Output by Institution, Discipline and Year
INSTITUTION 86/87 88/89 91/92 95/96 96/97 Ave. annual %
growth
IBADAN 3,821 3,040 3,173 6,813 6,929 9.59%
NSUKKA 4,359 3,826 5,924 4,259 4,611 2.10%
KANO 1,060 983 1,380 3,922 4,317 17.87%
P HARC. 817 2,264 2,107 3,519 3,826 6.00%
JOS 1,344 2,181 2,888 5,961 3,565 5.61%
IFE 3,269 2,756 4,397 3,427 3,427 2.45%
LAGOS 3,436 4,126 4,709 3,135 3,372 -2.22%
BENIN 1,453 3,630 3,392 3,873 3,299 -1.06%
MAID. 1,363 1,279 1,474 2,706 3,166 10.60%
ILORIN 1,382 1,420 2,750 3,346 3,162 9.30%
UYO 0 0 1,404 1,314 1,314 -1.10%
AWKA 0 0 858 1,274 1,276 6.84%
CALABAR 1,103 2,447 1,587 1,208 1,208 -7.54%
SOKOTO 711 817 749 1,169 1,066 3.00%
OWERRI 81 213 296 490 741 14.86%
AKURE 61 136 260 408 495 15.44%
BAUCHI 90 73 121 298 389 20.43%
ABEOK. 5 0 123 369 369 20.09%
MAKURDI 85 57 224 298 353 22.46%
YOLA 0 45 169 334 334 24.95%
MINNA 0 23 124 120 120 20.15%
ZARIA 2,872 2,980 3,249 0 0 2.08%
ABUJA 0 0 0 0 0
UMUDIKE 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 27,312 32,296 41,358 48,243 47,339 4.34%
9
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Table 7. Graduate Output by Discipline and Year
DISCIPLINE 1986/87 1988/89 1991/92 1995/96 1996/97
ADMINISTRATION 1897 2088 2459 2233 2332
AGRICULTURE 1120 1366 1681 2371 2453
ARTS 3907 4072 4292 5569 5596
EDUCATION 7836 10686 13950 14449 12390
ENGINEERING 1569 1871 2246 2867 3210
ENVIRONMENT 842 814 942 779 669
LAW 1440 1714 1892 1264 1417
MEDICINE 1439 1593 1646 2205 2402
PHARMACY 295 298 551 421 405
SCIENCE 2582 3503 5109 6593 6989
SOC. SCIENCE 4190 4139 6383 9199 9201
VET. MEDICINE 195 152 207 293 275
TOTALS 27,312 32,296 41,358 48,243 47,339
The above analysis of university Obtaining accurate information on labor
enrollment and output trends reveals that demand is perhaps the most difficult
the supply of university educated workers challenge in collecting labor market
in Nigeria has grown over time. But what information. This is because hiring
has been the employment demand for decisions by firms are typically
these graduates? This is the topic of the uncoordinated and in many cases
next section. unannounced. For the purpose of this
study, the challenge is made more
daunting by the narrowness of our
Labor Demand and Graduate interest: the demand for university
Employment graduates. Additional labor analysis
problems in Nigeria stem from the fact
The demand for labor is derived from that no systematic collection of labor
production and distribution activities in market data takes place. Therefore, it
the goods and services sectors. As a becomes necessary to infer labor demand
result, its size and shape are sensitive to for university graduates through
what happens in the national economy. secondary data such as manpower
The brief description of the Nigerian surveys, the few existing labor market
economy given at the outset above would studies, and direct interviews with major
suggest that the demand for labor has been employers.
poor and volatile at best.
10
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Recent Labor Market Surveys and
Graduate (Un)employment If we turn our attention to unemployment
by level of education (Table 9), two
Since 1983, the Federal Office of important conclusions emerge.
Statistics (FOS) has conducted studies and
produced reports from sample surveys of First, workers with more than secondary
the Nigerian labor force taken on a regular education experience significantly higher
basis. The findings of these surveys are labor market success than those with
summarized in the agency's Annual secondary education or less. The data in
Abstracts of Statistics. According to the Table 9 indicate that the proportion of
latest report (1997), overall workers with post-secondary education is
unemployment rates in Nigeria ranged smaller among the unemployed than for
from 2 to 3 percent between 1992 and any other groups. These differences are
1996. At the same time, urban rates were particularly sharp when secondary school
at most 6 percent while rural certificate holders are compared with
unemployment never exceeded 4 percent. post-secondary graduates.
Table 9. Percent of Unemployed Persons by Level of Education.
Period
Educational Level
1992 1993 1994 1995 1996
All levels 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0
No 19.0 17.2 13.3 18.7 20.0
schooling
Primary 15.7 17.9 13.2 36.7 11.5
Secondary 59.2 60.9 68.7 37.5 51.3
Post- 6.1 4.0 4.8 7.1 17.2
secondary
Source: FOS (1997), Table 182.
Second, the employment advantage of Nevertheless, some would argue that FOS
post-secondary graduates has been numbers are too conservative. Since the
eroding throughout the 1990s. In 1992, post-secondary category includes
only 6 percent of all unemployed claimed graduates of colleges of education and
to have completed post-secondary polytechnics as well as university
education. But four years later, 17 percent graduates, it is possible that
of the unemployed possessed post- unemployment rates for university
secondary education. This supports the graduates may be different from those for
common argument that unemployment the post-secondary category as a whole.
rates among university graduates have Let us explore this possibility.
risen in recent years.
11
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Alternative sources of information for selected metropolitan areas of the federal
inferring the labor market prospects of republic. In both studies, information on
university graduates are provided by two educational attainment was explicitly
recent labor market studies undertaken by collected. Table 10 shows the distribution
the National Manpower Board. One study of unemployed workers by levels of
looked at labor market conditions in the education. Estimated unemployment rates
state of Lagos. The other encompassed are presented in Table 11.
The breakdown of unemployed persons graduates among the unemployed is only
according to their level of educational about 10 percent. This would seem to
attainment (shown in Table 10) confirms, imply that university graduates stand a
just as was seen in Table 9, that university better chance of obtaining employment
graduates are much less represented than those with only secondary education.
among the unemployed in comparison to But other unfavorable characteristics of
those with secondary education. In all the labor markets face graduates that are
metropolitan areas, the proportion of not apparent in Table 10.
Table 10. Share of Unemployment by Level of Education
Polytechnic and University
Metropolitan Area Secondary Monotechnic (1st degree)
Aba 45.7 12.3 12.3
Abuja 47.8 18.9 8.9
Ibadan 53.6 13.2 9.0
Jos 45.8 15.6 1.2
Kano 46.7 8.8 0.0
Lagos city 53.8 19.4 11.4
Maiduguri 33.3 21.2 6.1
Port Harcourt 68.1 4.7 10.8
All metro areas 53.9 14.5 9.4
Lagos state 57.6 12.0 14.3
Note: The shares for metropolitan areas are obtained from a Labor Market Study of 8
metropolitan areas, unpublished, 1998. The figures for Lagos state come from FGN-NMB
(1998a). Note that the values do not add up to 100 percent because shares of other
unemployed groups are not shown.
Unlike establishment and FOS data, these First, in sharp contrast to the FOS figures,
recent labor market surveys (FGN-NMB overall unemployment rates in local area
1998a; NMB 2000) calculate employment labor markets are much higher. The
rates by educational levels. A look at average unemployment rate across all
Table 11 leads to four unpleasant findings. metropolitan areas is 17 percent. Second,
12
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
unemployment rates for university are lower than for individuals with
graduates are high. The data presented in secondary education, there are places �
Table 11 show that for every 100 Aba and Lagos � where the rates are
graduates, 22 report being unemployed. higher for graduates.
Third, the severity of the unemployment
problem among graduates varies across What these recent labor market studies
regions. For instance, whereas graduate show is that � even though the rates
unemployment was negligible in two of cannot be generalized for the whole
the northern metropolitan areas included country � in places where many graduates
in the study (Jos and Kano), it approached are located, e.g. major urban areas, the
30 percent in some areas of the south. labor market prospects for university
Finally, although in many of these local graduates are bleak.
markets unemployment rates for graduates
Table 11. Unemployment Rate by Level of Education
Overall
Metropolitan Area Secondary Polytechnic / University unemployment rate
Monotechnic (1st degree)
Aba 15.2 30.0 26.3 16.2
Abuja 29.9 23.2 16.0 19.2
Ibadan 22.4 24.0 19.0 17.5
Jos 26.0 16.0 5.0 16.3
Kano 15.3 21.0 0.0 10.7
Lagos city 16.5 19.5 29.4 12.9
Maiduguri 13.6 18.0 13.3 8.9
Port Harcourt 48.5 28.4 29.1 34.7
All metro areas 23.5 15.0 21.7 17.2
Lagos state 22.6 23.2 17.3 17.2
Note: The rates for metropolitan areas are obtained from a Labor Market Study of 8 metropolitan areas,
unpublished, 1998. The figures for Lagos state come from FGN-NMB (1998a).
Estimates of Graduate Employment From covered all professional firms in
Manpower and Tracer Studies accountancy, architecture, medicine, law
etc., even if they employed fewer than 10
Two additional sources used to gauge persons. For many years, these surveys
graduate employment are manpower provided methodologically consistent and
surveys and tracer studies. In Nigeria, informative monitoring of developments
manpower surveys began in 1977 and in Nigeria's labor market.
were conducted regularly every five years
until 1991. The surveys gathered These reports confirm the preponderance
employment information from medium of public enterprises in the non-
and large scale establishments employing agricultural sector of the nation's
10 or more persons. The surveys also economy. In 1991, the combined federal,
13
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
state and local government-owned Tracer studies of university graduates can
enterprises comprised 21 percent of all also provide insight regarding graduate
establishments. Although this portion of employment in the public sector. A 1984
pure public establishments was lower than tracer study found that the majority of the
their 44 percent share in 1981, it did not graduates (58 percent) worked in the
imply that government involvement in public sector. It reported that over half of
productive activities had diminished. In the graduates obtained employment in
the same decade, the proportion of firms state-level civil service, 6 percent found
owned jointly by government and private jobs in the federal civil service, and
entrepreneurs rose from 5 percent to 49 another 17 percent worked in government
percent. At the same time, the purely parastatals (FGN: 1986). Another tracer
private firms declined from 57 percent of study found that 34 percent of older
total to 29 percent. graduates (those born in the 1960s and
graduated from the university in the
The implications of these ownership 1980s) worked in the public sector
patterns for employment should be (Ugwuonah and Omeje: 1998).
obvious. First, public sector's share of
non-agricultural employment has been As shown above, these manpower surveys
dominant and its position has not been provided useful labor market information
challenged. About 60 percent of all before their suspension. Yet these surveys
formal employment is provided by public were not without problems. Although the
firms. Furthermore, an additional 30 proportion of persons sampled who
percent of all formal employees work in returned questionnaires averaged a
firms with joint private and public respectable 60 percent across surveys,
ownership. This leaves just 10 percent of serious problems with coverage were not
all formal employment in private entirely resolved. For example, the
establishments. establishment list was often inadequate
and incomplete. Additionally, many firms
Prior to 1991 these surveys did not collect on the list could not be located.
information on the educational attainment Incompleteness of the list presents one
of employees. But in 1991 this form of bias � sampling bias � which is
information was incorporated into the created by the surveyors. And if some
analysis. It thus offers some insight into firms were included in the list but they fail
the labor market prospects for graduates. to respond, non-response bias presents
The 1991 report indicates that on average another form of bias. Should non-
35 percent of the employees in all respondents happen to share common
responding firms' possessed a university characteristics, say they are all small, or
education. In some states, mostly in the they are all private and so forth, such
South, nearly 50 percent of all responding selection bias casts doubt on statistics that
firms' employees were so educated. In break down employment by size or by
other states � including Lagos State � only ownership. Quite apart from these biases,
one-fifth of workers in responding firms the surveys' limited collection of key
had a university education. Interestingly, variables such as educational attainment
private firms employed a higher share of renders them useless in arriving at specific
graduates (43 percent of all their inferences regarding labor market
employees) than the firms owned by the conditions of university graduates. When
federal government (29 percent). the enormous changes that have taken
14
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
place in Nigeria since the last survey was all three of these areas. If this can be
conducted are taken into account, it is done, trends in graduate employment
readily apparent that labor market distribution among these sectors will give
information from the manpower surveys us useful clues to the more recent
for the issue at hand �employment experience of graduates in the labor
conditions of university graduates � is market.
already very much out of date. However,
tracer studies can be used in conjunction Public Sector Employment for Graduates
with public sector employment registers to The public sector in Africa has
arrive at a reasonable estimate of graduate historically been a major employer of
(un)employment. The following university graduates. In fact, in most
discussion seeks to achieve this objective. countries it has been the single biggest
formal sector employer. And Nigeria has
Combining Tracer Studies and Public not been an exception. The establishment
Sector Employment rosters surveys show that the public sector in
Three main sources of employment exist Nigeria absorbed about 60 percent of the
for university graduates in Nigeria: (a) formal sector workers at the beginning of
the public sector, including government the 1990s, when the last such survey was
ministries, schools, and parastatals; (b) the produced (FGN-NMB: 1991). It is
private sector, which encompasses small reasonable to expect that many of these
to medium-sized private business as well workers are university graduates. More
as multinational corporations; and (c) self- precisely, as at the end of 1997, the
employment. Any good assessment of federal government employed a total of
graduate employment prospects in the 163,991 federal civil servants (FGN, 1999).
country must therefore include reasonable Of these, 42,695 (or 26 percent) held
indicators of graduate absorption rates in grades 8 and above which have
Table 12. Applications and Hires into the Federal Civil Service
Year Number of Number of Proportion of Number of Percent
applications graduates(+) Graduates offers Absorption
1993 9650 2459 25.5
1994 8694 5673 65.2 617 7.1
1995 14,312 9398 66.5 756 5.3
1996 10,250 7220 70.4 329 3.2
1997 9441 6390 65.6 179 1.9
1998 8172 5139 62.9 138 1.6
1999(*) 63,414 226 0.35
2000(**) 50,000 + 3301 6.6
Note: Figures from FGN (1999). Graduates(+) includes those with post-graduate degrees. The numbers for 1999(*) are
not published yet, but known, while those for the year 2000(**) are provisional (Federal Civil Service Commission,
personal conversation).6
6The reports were all printed in 1999. However, each year's report was produced separately. The number of
senior positions rises to 57,015 (35 percent) of all federal civil servants if we include grade 7 in the count. It
must be remembered though that grade 7 is open to individuals with diplomas from middle -level colleges
(polytechnics and colleges of education). The reason why graduate employment is over represented is that
individuals with university education are likely to be far less than 26 percent in the population.
15
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
traditionally been the grades dominated by education (Federal Civil Service
university graduates (FGN: 1997).3 Commission, personal conversation).
Naturally, any emerging trend concerning Even the apparent improvement that
recent graduate intake into the public emerges in 2000 is still far below the
sector will be a strong indicator of levels witnessed prior to the hiring freeze.
graduate employment prospects. Table 12 By May 2000, there were 50,000
shows applications and hires by the applicants for 3,301 positions. Even if no
federal civil service in Nigeria in the more applications were received after
1990s (FGN: 1999). May, only 6.6 percent of applicants can be
accepted. However, the Federal Civil
The figures given in Table 12 should not Service Commission expected an
be mistaken for all available federal civil additional 50,000 � especially when those
service positions. Instead, they represent graduating in the fourth quarter of the year
only grade levels 7 and above, i.e., senior join the ranks of job seekers. If this
positions, whose filling is the proves to be the case, then the proportion
responsibility of the recruitment division of vacancies to applicants falls to 3
of the federal civil service commission. percent. Consequently, the bleak
As expected, the majority of the prospects of graduate employment in the
applicants for the senior positions are federal civil service at this time are clear.
university graduates. The remainder are
mostly graduates of polytechnics and State and local governments, two other
other mid-level colleges. If we accept that sources of public sector employment, do
historically the federal civil service had not offer any reprieve. The best evidence
been a major employer of graduates, then in support of this conclusion comes from a
recent trends in civil service recruitment study of state and local government
show very gloomy employment prospects employment from four states and the
for university graduates. federal capital territory of Abuja (FGN-
NMB, 1998b). The total number of state
A comparison of the first two and the last and local government employees is shown
two columns in Table 12 shows just how in Table 13.
disappointing employment in the federal
civil service has been for graduates in These states represent four major zones in
recent years. The number of positions the country. According to the surveys,
opening represented less than 10 percent only 4.4 percent of the employees
of applications for most of the 1990s. Part surveyed had pursued higher education,
of the problem is that regular recruitment where the later includes both university
into the civil service was suspended graduates and higher national diploma
between 1994 and 1998 in order to carry holders. Of these, just 1.5 percent hold
out an internal audit of the federal civil university degrees. From the raw
service. This merely compounded the numbers, this translates to 1,167
problem because by 1999, when all the individuals with university education or
delayed applications came on stream, less 233 per state. Since there are 31 states in
than 1 percent of all qualified applicants the federation, this could imply that, on
could be hired. Furthermore, most of average, 7,223 graduates would be
these hirings occurred in the field of working for local governments.
16
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Table 13. Employment in Local Government Areas
No. of Responding
No. of LGAs No. of Employees
State No. of LGAs LGAs
Surveyed
Abuja 4 4 4 3,149
Bauchi 23 23 23 30,493
Niger 19 19 19 22,984
Imo 21 21 21 8,837
Ondo 26 26 26 12,403
TOTAL 77,866
Source: FGN-NMB (1998b). LGA denotes Local Government Areas.
An alternative method of estimating the graduates were hired into the federal civil
absorption of graduates into local service during that period because of the
government employment is to track hiring freeze, almost 129,000 of the
vacancies and job offers at the local level. remainder would have had to find jobs in
According to the survey (FGN-NMB, a depressed private sector, or become self-
1998b), local governments that were employed.
audited were asked to project their new
staff requirements for the period 1996 - Private Sector and Self-employment
1998. The Local Government Areas
included in the study expected to recruit A fairly reasonable estimate of public
17, 797 more workers. Of this total, 13.2 sector absorption of graduates can be
percent were for senior positions, which obtained as demonstrated above because
are the posts that university graduates are several relevant studies plus a recent audit
expected to fill. Assuming that all of of the federal and local government
these posts were filled by graduates only, employment levels were available. Data
this would mean that each state would on graduate employment in the private
absorb 462 graduates in three years, which sector and in self-employment are
add to a total of 14,322 for the whole exceedingly rare. The little data available
federation. Note, however, that in those regarding private sector share of graduate
three years (1996 - 1998), the estimated employment come from tracer studies.8
supply of graduates entering the labor
market was 1440597. Since we know A review of labor market research in
from Table 12 that only 650 of these Nigeria leads to two consistent
observations concerning graduate
employment in the private sector. First,
7The projections are based on the following. We the share of graduate employment in the
know total labor market entrants from federal private sector, both historically and at
universities for years 95/96 and 96/97 are 48243
and 47339 respectively (Table 6). We projected
the output for 97/98 by using an average growth of 8 Tracer studies in this context refer to follow-on
graduate output in the 1990s, which from Table 6 surveys and analysis of the performance of past
is 2.4 percent. cohorts of graduates in the labor market.
17
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
present, has been smaller than in the share (2000) for which data are available, only 7
of the public sector. Second, the share of percent of these graduates (i.e., 3600 ) are
graduates finding jobs in the public sector likely to be absorbed into the federal civil
has fallen drastically relative to the private service � and even this share has to be
and self-employment sectors. understood as the upper bound. The
evidence from recent tracer studies and
Tracer studies of university graduates past manpower surveys indicate that the
provide the evidence for both formal private sector absorbs at most
observations. A tracer study of graduates another 40 percent. In fact, judging from
of the University of Benin found that only the state of Nigerian economy over the
33 percent of the sampled respondents past five years, this figure may be
worked in the private sector (OMOIFO, optimistic. Because the economy has not
BADMUS AND AWANBOR: 1998), while just been growing, many firms have not been
8 percent were self-employed. However hiring. That said, suppose nevertheless
the private sector share in this study was that 40 percent is a good estimate of the
higher than the share reported by a similar private sector absorption rate. It means
study from 1984 in which only 27 percent that an additional 20,400 graduates found
of the sampled respondents worked in the employment in this sector.
private sector (FGN: 1986).
From the total of 51,000 graduates, these
This rising share of graduate employment calculations suggest that only 24,000
in the private sector uptake of graduates found jobs in the federal and private
must be understood within an overall sectors. Some of the remaining 27,000
environment in which employment in the will be employed by state and local
public sector � traditionally a strong government civil services. Table 13
employer of graduates � has diminished shows that average projections through
enormously. For example, the University the year 1998 placed these numbers at
of Benin tracer study showed that whereas around 7,000 annually. So what happens
58 percent of all graduates surveyed to the remaining 20,000 graduates? Most
worked in the public sector, only 36 observers of labor market conditions in
percent of the more recent graduates Nigeria would agree that the remaining
(those who graduated in the 1990s) had fraction � 39 percent of the total � is either
found jobs in the public sector. unemployed or self-employed. Since
unemployment is very costly in the
So Where Are the Recent Graduates ? absence of unemployment insurance, it
This answer to this question can be seems probable that increasing numbers of
guessed by doing a simple "back of the graduates are entering the self-
envelop" calculation. Consider that some employment sector. For many of them,
51,000 graduates are supplied to the labor the choice is not voluntary (ADEJUNMOBI
market from all federal government 1991; ONI 1994, 1996; AKERELE 1997).
universities9. Going by the latest year
These bleak prospects for graduate
employment have caught the attention of
9This number refers to the expected graduate
output in year 2000 assuming that the growth rate policymakers as well as media
is 2.4 percent per year as implied for the 1990s in commentators. In fact, the situation is
Table 6. If a higher growth averaging the 1980s almost certainly worse than the numbers
and 1990s (4.3%) is used, the output would be
higher.
18
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
indicate because graduates from the 16 in which just 51 percent of those who
state universities have not been taken into graduated in 1994/95 (one to two years
account. prior to the survey) claimed to have been
employed in contrast to an overall
Whatever the true numbers may be, it is graduate employment rate of 80 percent
hard to ignore recent studies that report for all respondents to this particular study
high unemployment rates among (OMOIFO, BADMUS, AND AWANBOR 1998).
graduates. One of these is a tracer study
Table 14. Advertised Job Openings in the Nigerian Economy, 1991 - 1999
1st Quarter 1st Quarter 1st Quarter 1st Quarter 1st Quarter 1st Quarter 1st Quarter Tota
Sub-sector 1991 1993 1994 1996 1997 1998 1999 l %
1991
-
1999
Engineering 191 18 267 23 136 16 118 30 65 17 53 18 72 10 902 19
Computer 97 9 79 7 52 6 19 5 61 16 35 12 72 10 415 9
Services
Administratiion 176 16 159 14 249 30 109 28 68 18 61 20 73 10 895 19
Accounting 147 14 173 15 139 16 44 11 87 23 49 16 80 11 719 15
Marketing 132 12 90 8 84 10 61 16 67 18 51 17 9 1 439 9
Education 96 9 71 6 74 9 10 3 5 1 20 7 1 0 277 6
Insurance 30 3 40 4 17 2 6 2 5 1 2 1 2 0 100 2
Agriculture 34 3 23 2 1 0 4 1 4 1 -- -- 6 1 72 2
Health 165 15 245 21 93 11 18 5 13 4 31 10 390 56 955 20
Total 1068 100 1147 100 845 100 389 100 375 100 302 100 703 100 4774 100
Source: Labour Market Quarterly Report, NISER, Ibadan
The estimate above is also consistent with openings in the Nigerian economy. While
the recent labor market studies that report the Institute recognizes that many job
22 percent of the graduates surveyed as vacancies are usually filled without
unemployed (FGN-NMB 1998a). advertisement, the information presented
in Table 14 shows the pattern of vacancies
The Demand for Critical Skills in the various professions between the
January to March quarter in 1991 and
For a decade, the Nigerian Institute of 1999.10
Social and Economic Research (NISER)
in Ibadan has monitored advertised job
10 In the process of tabulation, efforts were made
to avoid multiple counting where employers had
advertised in more than one mediu m.
19
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
The Institute kept a record of announced In contrast, the NISER survey indicates
vacancies for high level skills in nine that the vacancy advertisements for
major sub-sectors of the economy. engineering and accounting have
During the entire period, the largest remained consistently high. Annual job
number of advertised job openings were announcements deviated very little from
in the health sub-sector (20%). This was the decade average, particularly in
followed closely by engineering (19%), engineering. In accounting as well, the
administration (19%) and accounting year-to-year rates were more steady than
(15%). Other sub-sectors with relatively in health. The computer services sub-
fewer vacancies were marketing (9%), sector is one of the few (together with
computer services (9%), education (6%), health) where the share of vacancies has
insurance (2%) and agriculture (1%). gone up. Unlike the health sub-sector,
however, computer services have had a
The higher number of advertised sustained growth in vacancy
vacancies in the health sub-sector is a announcements for a much longer period.
recent phenomenon. Vacancies rose
sharply only in the final year of the period The important question is what this
and prior to that the reported vacancies in employment vacancy information tells us.
health were very small. Yet the sudden In the absence of more detailed labor
rise in demand for health workers should demand research, this indicator provides
not be surprising. The appearance of some insight concerning the patterns of
HIV/AIDS as a national concern would labor demand. In ideal labor market
lead to demand for more trained medical conditions, all firms will announce their
personnel. The high number of job vacancies and it would then be possible to
vacancy advertisements in the health sub- know total demand for the year. Usually,
sector may well have reflected the however, vacancies are posted by firms
government's aggressive policy with for those positions they fail to fill by other
respect to the spread of HIV/AIDS which methods (referrals, internal promotion,
was viewed as a national threat. All levels poaching, etc.). From this perspective, the
of government as well as private sector NISER data indicate that towards the end
and non-government organizations have of the 1990s, the demand for skills in
been mobilized against the HIV/AIDS computer and medical sciences rose
pandemic. Such a response could explain relative to other skills. In engineering and
the dramatic rise in the demand for accounting, all indications are that the
doctors, nurses, health technologists and demand remains steady.
other paramedics during the final year of
the survey. Moreover, towards the end of In view of the fact that current
the decade university enrollments in government policy is to promote a private
medical sciences were beginning to sector-led economy, the demand for
decline. As shown in Table 8b, only 7 engineering, accounting and related skills
percent of total students were enrolled in seems likely to expand. This has direct
the medical sciences in 1997 whereas a implications for the mix of graduate skills
few years prior the proportion had been 9 that universities should produce for the
percent. labor market.
20
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Employers' Assessment of enormous. But this is not where the social
Graduates in the Market Place costs end. Even among the university
graduates that are able to find work,
From the analysis above, a large mismatch employers express major reservations
appears to exist between university output concerning the quality of their education.
and labor market demand. The same
analysis shows that the employment Evaluation of the quality of university
prospects of recent graduates have clearly graduates is based mainly on a series of
deteriorated. Without doubt, the main questions put to major employers of
reason for these poor employment Nigerian graduates. These questions
conditions is the weak performance of the asked employers to assess graduates'
Nigerian economy. level of preparation and performance on
the job. The most worrisome feedback
But there are two reasons why an from these interviews with employers of
economy would perform badly. One is Nigerian graduates is just how serious
the policy environment, which in this case quality deterioration has become.
includes the institutions that structure Employers widely agree on three points
incentives to reward investment in with regard to the quality decline in higher
productive assets. The second reason is education. (A list of employers
an inadequate level and quality of inputs interviewed is provided in Attachment 2).
that businesses in the economy employ.
One vital input is skilled human resources, ? Quality deterioration is accelerating.
especially the quality of the university Many employers observe that the quality
trained portion of the work force. of university graduates has worsened
during the 1990s. Moreover, they believe
Widespread agreement exists that the that the decline in quality levels is actually
policy environment for economic growth increasing rather than leveling off. This
in Nigeria has not been favorable for sentiment is shared by both regional
many years. A discussion of why this has employers and major multinational
been the case is not a the subject of the corporations. A major employer in the
present investigation. However, the telecommunication sector confesses that
second variable � the quality of skilled "some recent graduates do not have even
labor � is germane and has exacerbated basic skills." Others state that "the last
shortcomings in the policy sphere. well-trained corps of Nigerian graduates
left the system in the mid-1980s."
The above analysis demonstrates an
abundance of university trained labor. As The perception of deteriorating quality is
shown, many more university graduates supported by tracer studies. For example,
are produced than the economy can interviewed cohorts in a recent tracer
absorb. This results in a high graduate study of graduates of the University of
unemployment rate of 22 percent in many Nigeria, Nsukka, gave a lower rating to
metropolitan areas. Because so many the "reputation of the university" than
people in whom the public resources have previous cohorts. More generally, they
been invested are idle or unproductively readily expressed their belief that the
utilized, the social costs to the nation, quality of university education has fallen
measured in terms of lost productivity, are (ANYANWU AND ILOEJE: 1998). In a
21
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
similar study of the University of Benin knowledge base in technical disciplines,
graduates, those who graduated in the they expressed disappointment with the
1980s gave more favorable ratings to preparation of the graduates in those
questions regarding availability of study applied technical skills necessary for
resources than those who graduated in the solving problems and enhancing business
1990s. In particular, older cohorts productivity. A large multinational
awarded higher scores to questions on manufacturing employer characterized the
opportunities to undertake research, universities as emphasizing "too much
participate in supervised work experience, theory and too little practical training."
and have access to technical and The respondent of another manufacturing
laboratory resources (UGWUONAH AND firm talked of graduates' unfamiliarity
OMEJE: 1998). with the basic manufacturing processes
essential for its business. Other firms
? Quality deterioration is of particular repeatedly shared with us the fact that
concern in key skill areas. many recently hired graduates were
Beyond their general agreement regarding unfamiliar with computers or the tools
falling standards of university education, that the company uses in production.
many employers cited key skill areas as
particularly worrying. Two of these skills Employers often stated that graduates had
were communication and technical not been exposed to equipment used in the
proficiency. Poor abilities in the oral and workplace � even when such equipment is
written expression of English were quite conventional. Graduates were also
mentioned almost like a chorus. reported incapable of technical solutions
Inadequate preparation in the English to routine problems as expected of
language was especially noted by individuals with their levels of training.
newspapers and businesses where regular As a consequence, a number of firms,
report writing is required. As an especially larger ones with some
illustration of the depth of poor English investment capital, put their recruits
proficiency, one banker told us that he through intensive post-employment
"cannot get five correctly crafted training to prepare them for their
sentences in one paragraph from recent responsibilities in the work place.
university graduates." He added that
some graduates who were recruited as The problem of inadequate technical
senior managers "cannot write a memo of preparation among graduates is echoed by
three paragraphs." Similar frustrations the tracer studies. When graduates of
were expressed by editors of newspapers. universities in Anambra and Enugu states
In assessing interns in mass working in manufacturing businesses
communications, a newspaper editor were asked to assess the adequacy of
lamented, "sometimes you ask students to university efforts in preparing them for
prepare a report, and you almost have to their work, many graduates rated them as
ask them to re-do it." poor. Notably, the strongest negative
evaluations were expressed by science and
The other skill area of great concern to engineering graduates (UGWUONAH AND
employers is the technical preparation of OMEJE: 1998).
graduates. Although many employers
confirm that the graduates possess a broad Among graduates in Engineering and
and respectable understanding of the Management Science, 60 percent stated
22
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
that they used the general principles of The problems of staff quality are seen to
what they learnt at the university in their be severe. A solution to them is viewed
work. Beyond that, the ratings were less as critical to any improvement in the
favorable. In particular, graduates rated quality of university graduates. The
the practical aspects of their education decline of staff quality is reflected in the
very poorly. Graduates in systems high rates of "brain drain," the declining
analysis and in electronic data processing numbers of professors and assistant
were especially critical of their training. professors within the university system,
These findings illustrate the wide gap that and their falling levels of post-graduate
exists between what is taught in the preparation. In addition, as student
universities and what the world of work enrollments have doubled, the numbers of
requires. Interestingly, the graduates of qualified instructors have not kept pace.
polytechnics assigned more favorable As a result, staff/student ratios have
grading to "use of knowledge acquired worsened to the detriment of student
during study to my work," than university learning.
graduates. This observation was
corroborated by employers. Poor quality of graduates is also caused by
a shortage of learning resources. Many
In another tracer study, graduates of the university libraries are reported to hold
University of Benin rated supervised out of date collections. One respondent
practical work and quality of academic for a manufacturing firm noted that even
advice received as very poor. Among the instructors from some of the local
graduates of Medicine and Sciences, only universities whose graduates they recruit
29 percent rate equipment, laboratories do not have copies of basic texts that are
and workshops as very good. On the available in the corporate library and
whole, most graduates felt that teaching essential reading for the engineering
facilities and infrastructure were the worst processes used by the firm.
aspects of the university environment.
The subsequent worst aspects of the Employers admit that a disproportionate
educational environment were staff share of university problems stem from
qualifications and living conditions inadequate financing. Because the federal
(OMOIFO, BADMUS AND AWANBOR: 1998). government provides nearly all of the
universities' budgetary requirements, the
? Poor quality staff produce poor quality financial stability of the universities is tied
to the fiscal fortunes of the state.
graduates. Unfortunately, in the last two decades the
Although most employers are unhappy federal budget has not been stable. This is
with the quality of graduate output from because it is tied very closely to oil
the federal universities, they are well revenues, whose terms of trade in those
aware of the causes. Many employers are two decades have experienced a lot of
quick to state that the quality of the instability. The consequences of unstable
graduates is simply a reflection of the funding of the universities are reflected in
quality of academic staff, learning poorly equipped laboratories, outdated
resources (libraries, laboratories, etc.), and libraries, poorly remunerated staff, and
funding limitations. crumbling academic facilities.
23
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Employer Views in Key Areas Conclusion
Comments by employers of graduates in A national debate about how and what to
key skill areas are summarized in reform in university education is
Attachment 1. A reading of the comments underway in Nigeria. At present, there is
finds two persistent themes. widespread agreement on the broad
outlines of the causes of declining quality
First, under current economic conditions, of education. They include (a) inadequate
the main problem facing employers in financing, (b) insufficient and irrelevant
Nigeria is not a lack of skilled labor but a learning materials, including old and
shortage of good quality skilled labor. It outdated equipment, books and journals,
should be clear by now that skilled labor (c) poorly-paid and trained academic staff,
refers to persons holding diplomas and (d) outmoded and inflexible managerial
degrees from polytechnics and structures, (e) unplanned expansion of
universities respectively. enrollment leading to oversupply of
graduates, and (e) irrelevant curriculum.
Second, because the sale of products and
services is very sensitive to quality in This study has emphasized that a serious
critical skill areas such as medicine and disconnect exists between university
computing, and because the labor market training and the needs of the labor market.
is inundated with poor quality graduates, This mismatch has been and continues to
employers in these fields undertake long be socially costly to Nigeria. The large
and expensive recruiting and training numbers of unemployable graduates and
processes in order to maintain their the low productivity of those who find
service standards. Numerous firms work reflects a poor social return on the
expend a great deal of money and effort to investment.
re-train fresh graduates just to maintain
the quality of their products and services. The tragedy is that while the causes of
An illustrative but possibly extreme case low quality of university education and its
is that of Shell Petroleum, which spends consequences are readily acknowledged,
$12,000 per trainee per year. The there are no mechanisms in place to
necessity of post-employment remedial address them. Yet university education in
training is proving to be very costly to Nigeria cannot go on in its present status.
businesses because the inefficiencies of It is inevitable that the hard choices that
the universities are transferred to lie ahead must be faced in order to
businesses and to the national economy improve quality of teaching and learning
as a whole. and reduce the social costs.
24
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
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28
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Table 8a. Total Student Enrollment by Academic Discipline and Year
Discipline 80/81 81/82 82/83 83/84 84/85 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90 90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96* 96/97 97/98
ADMIN 3947 3693 5425 6327 6346 7156 7240 6503 5809 8886 12274 10556 12674 11790 12525 15339 15534
AGRIC 4332 4596 5412 5984 7024 6609 6927 8193 9819 10944 12062 11089 12170 12765 14925 15862 18973
ARTS 10322 12518 13236 15016 15743 16346 16995 17351 17948 19812 21863 21483 22646 22981 21976 24459 23515
EDUC 14476 16430 18594 19077 20685 19201 21459 18311 18741 24318 29161 26704 31012 30544 30133 31305 40791
ENG/TEC 4975 5360 5998 7307 8358 10894 11914 12102 12939 14801 17557 19371 22080 23767 27793 29370 47132
ENV. 2106 2810 3249 3552 3735 4227 4463 3982 4194 4837 5380 6630 7763 7885 9548 9663 8847
LAW 3704 4652 5379 5872 5807 7209 7466 6424 6197 7002 8752 8247 9765 10516 11524 11317 12381
MED 6485 7503 8061 8540 8857 9704 11615 10091 10594 12032 13938 15139 17118 18304 19962 20842 20986
PHARM 1462 1620 1752 1730 1811 1995 1994 2109 2290 2661 2716 4153 5003 5420 5786 4663 4728
SCIENCE 9405 11531 13192 13273 14824 16654 19023 20657 22510 27676 34989 34497 41504 41823 47728 49221 53828
SOC. SCI 9540 11440 13610 13984 14862 15572 15689 16573 17850 21621 28037 23948 21463 25164 28077 29754 43012
VETMED 581 757 937 1030 994 1292 1313 1306 1403 1528 1643 1685 2084 2558 2742 2313 2039
Total 71335 82910 94845 101692 109046 116859 126098 123602 130294 156118 18372 183502 205282 213517 232719 244108 291766
Adapted from TABLE 1A, Major disciplines and student enrollment in Academic Discipline
95-97 adapted from NUC Annual Report for 96 & 97, Tables 2 & 3
Table 8b. Percentage Distribution of Enrollment by Discipline and Year
Discipline 80/81 81/82 82/83 83/84 84/85 86/87 87/88 88/89 89/90 90/91 91/92 92/93 93/94 94/95 95/96 96/97 97/98
Enrolment 71335 82910 94845 101692 109046 116859 126098 123602 130294 156118 188372 183502 205282 213517 232719 244108 291766
ADMIN 5.6% 4.5% 5.8% 6.3% 5.9% 6.2% 5.8% 5.3% 4.5% 5.7% 6.6% 5.8% 6.2% 5.6% 5.4% 6.3% 5.4%
AGRIC 6.1% 5.6% 5.8% 5.9% 6.5% 5.7% 5.5% 6.7% 7.6% 7.1% 6.5% 6.1% 6.0% 6.0% 6.5% 6.5% 6.6%
ARTS 14.5% 15.1% 14.0% 14.8% 14.5% 14.0% 13.5% 14.1% 13.8% 12.7% 11.7% 11.8% 11.1% 10.8% 9.5% 10.1% 8.1%
EDUC 20.3% 19.9% 19.7% 18.8% 19.0% 16.5% 17.1% 14.9% 14.4% 15.6% 15.5% 14.6% 15.2% 14.4% 13.0% 12.9% 14.0%
ENG/TEC 7.0% 6.5% 6.4% 7.2% 7.7% 9.4% 9.5% 9.8% 10.0% 9.5% 9.4% 10.6% 10.8% 11.2% 12.0% 12.1% 16.2%
ENV. 3% 3.4% 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 3.7% 3.6% 3.3% 3.3% 3.1% 2.9% 3.7% 3.8% 3.7% 4.2% 4.0% 3.1%
LAW 5.2% 5.7% 5.7% 5.8% 5.4% 6.2% 6.0% 5.2% 4.8% 4.5% 4.7% 4.5% 4.8% 5.0% 5.0% 4.7% 4.3%
MED 9.1% 9.1% 8.5% 8.4% 8.2% 8.4% 9.3% 8.2% 8.2% 7.8% 7.4% 8.3% 8.4% 8.6% 8.6% 8.6% 7.2%
PHARM 2.1% 2.0% 1.9% 1.8% 1.7% 1.8% 1.6% 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1.5% 2.3% 2.5% 2.6% 2.5% 2.0% 1.7%
SCIENCE 13.2% 14.0% 14.0% 13.1% 13.6% 14.3% 15.1% 16.8% 17.3% 17.8% 18.6% 18.8% 20.3% 19.6% 20.6% 20.2% 18.5%
SOC. SCI 13.4% 13.8% 14.4% 13.8% 13.7% 13.4% 12.5% 13.5% 13.7% 13.9% 14.9% 13.1% 10.5% 11.8% 12.1% 12.2% 14.8%
VET. 0.9% 1.0% 1.0% 1.1% 1.0% 1.2% 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1.0% 0.9% 1.0% 1.1% 1.2% 1.2% 1.0% 0.7%
MED
Adapted from TABLE 1A, Major disciplines and student enrollment in Academic Discipline
95-97 adapted from NUC Annual Report for 96 & 97, Tables 2 & 3
29
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Attachment 1
Comments of Employers in Key Sub-Sectors
NECA: Employers NECA finds that companies are not recruiting but adopting employment
Group protection strategies. They also asserted that very poor quality graduates do
not meet the demands of industry. The deficiencies are in four critical skills:
(a) communication;
(b) technical;
(c) conceptual/analytical; and
(d) human interactive / social skills.
NECA observes a poor link between theory and practice. To find a good
recruit, the process is often long and expensive. Moreover, since re-training
is almost always undertaken, this adds to operating costs.
NECA is represented on Councils/Boards of National Board for Technical
Education, therefore it makes policy suggestions to appropriate government
bodies.
Nigerian Institute of NIPM and NIM are not employers. They assist employers to recruit
Personnel qualified manpower and cater for the interest of members of their Institutes.
Management (NIPM)
Comments: Quality of graduates is on rapid decline. Graduates lack in all
(a) to (d) skills mentioned above. Firms engage in long, tortuous and costly
Nigerian Institute of processes of recruitment. Management education has collapsed in the
Management (NIM) country even at the Centre for Management, Development and
Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON). National Manpower
Board is already moribund. Neglect of the education sector is the major
cause of the problem of low quality graduates.
Chartered Institute of CIBN and ICAN are institutions in the banking and accounting professions.
Bankers of Nigeria They influence and monitor the practice of banking and accounting. They
(CIBN) also examine and award certificates recognized by law. Examination
candidates are graduates of universities and polytechnics. Failure rate is
very high. (See CIBN examination result, 1992 - 2000 in Tables 3.1 - 3.3).
Institute of Chartered
Accountants of They find that new banks are recruiting. Among the recruits, University
Nigeria (ICAN) graduates perform better in theory questions while the polytechnic graduates
do better in practice questions. However, university graduates do better than
polytechnic graduates in aptitude tests. ICAN says products of OAU, Benin,
Unilag, OSU, Yaba Tech, Ibadan Poly perform well in accounting
examinations. They find graduates to have poor communication skills.
30
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Council of Registered COREN maintains a register of engineers and monitors engineering practice.
Engineers of Nigeria Annual registration of qualified young engineers is between 600 - 700. At
(COREN) least four years post qualification experience is required before registration.
They believe that production of engineers is not enough in Nigeria. They
also feel that Nigerian engineering education does not teach problem-solving
skills. Although quality of engineering education is poor, engineering
graduates are particularly wanting in technical and communication skills.
Agriculture All the three organizations recruit graduates in agriculture for research and
training (M.Sc./Ph.D) depending on vacancies, research priorities). Out of
1. Institute of the 82 graduates employed by IITA (1995 - 2000), 54 of them (i.e. 66%)
Agricultural Research were university graduates of different disciplines. The two IARTs
and Training (IART), recruitment is largely determined by funds availability.
Zaria.
It is the opinion of the supervisors that the new graduates lack basic skill
2. Institute of requirements for research and training. Consequently, they spend longer
Agricultural Research period on their research.
and Training (OAU),
Ibadan.
3. International
Institute of Tropical
Agriculture (IITA),
Ibadan.
Mining In addition to need, political considerations affect recruitment in this
government managed sector. Demand is mainly for graduates in civil and
National Coal mechanical engineering and geo-sciences. At present only one university (at
Corporation, Enugu Jos) offers courses in mining engineering.
For many years now, the mining sector has been moribund, so that little
recruitment has taken place. Moreover, many young and talented people do
not want to take the risks that are posed by mining industry. Therefore,
recruiting talent is very difficult. The few graduates who are hired have
weak technical skills.
31
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Petroleum Industry The petroleum industry is a major employer of engineering and other science
graduates. The demand in this industry is mainly for graduates with skills in
1.Mobil Oil Co. geo-sciences, information technology, electronics/electrical engineering as
well as physicists, chemists, and mathematicians. In 1998/99, Shell alone
2.Shell Nigeria PLC employed 132 out of 189 graduates that were accepted into its training
programs. Most of the remaining 57 were accepted by other oil companies.
To minimize the effect of poor graduate preparation on its operations, Shell
runs an intensive training program in Warri. The training program runs for a
year and is implemented by consultants from Europe and lecturers from
Nigerian universities. Other oil companies, such as Mobil have similar
programs although not in the same scale as Shell.
Shell also participates in enhancing graduate quality through strengthening
research capacity in the universities. It allows university lecturers to spend
their sabbatical at the company. It also supports endowed chairs in
engineering departments of 6 universities.
The cost of this intervention is not cheap. Shell spends about $12,000 per
year per trainee.
Oil Services Sector The oil services sector has a great demand for good electrical, mechanical,
chemical engineers as well as physicists and computer science majors. The
1.Schlumberger � Port employers in this sector found the available talent satisfactory for their
Harcourt needs. This is because they have a large applicant pool from which they
select the best. Between 1997-2000, Halliburton employed 500 HND and
2.Halliburton - Port graduates with science degrees. However, in just one year, the corporation
Harcourt receives thousands of applicants. In the year 2000, it received 8000
applicants, from which 14 will be selected for training in the USA.
Sending recruits for training is part of a larger strategy to improve the skills
of incoming graduates. In addition to sending fresh recruits to the USA, the
oil services sector (a) retains the most dedicated and promising talent
attached to them through the National Youth Service (NYSC) program, and
(b) send some of the recruits to the Shell Intensive Training Program at
Warri for a year.
32
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Automotive Industry ANAMCO and PAN recruit graduates in different ways. ANAMCO, has
few managerial positions and the skills required for positions that open up
1. Anambra Motor are superior to those brought by fresh graduates. In many cases, the
Company (ANAMCO), company takes on graduates through the National Service or direct
Enugu. recruitment from the labor market, and then retains those that prove to be
hard working. By contrast, PAN puts its recruits through an aptitude test
2. Peugeot Assembly that has theoretical and practical components.
Nigeria (PAN), Kaduna
Both companies find that polytechnic students on industrial attachment have
relatively higher technical competence than university graduates. However,
the quality is generally so bad that most recruits add no value to the
company. However, Federal University of Technology at Owerri is known
to have good mechanical and metallurgical engineering.
The screening process is necessitated by what the employers see as
unacceptably poor preparation of graduates for the world of work. In
particular, PAN plans to initiate a more intensive training program even for
those who pass the aptitude test, to teach cutting-edge automotive
engineering techniques that are unavailable from the university course loads.
This program will start in October 2000 with 50 diploma- and degree-
holding candidates, and each incoming group will be trained for one year.
Construction Construction companies recruit mainly graduates in surveying, civil and
mechanical engineering. However, our discussion with a major construction
Dantata and Sawoe, company revealed that graduate recruitment is a function of the flow of
Kano. construction contracts usually from the government
As to the quality of graduates, the supervisors were not impressed by the
average graduate, but they also acknowledged that their firm did not have a
significant problem finding good engineers because the company always .
selected the very best out of those who came for industrial training and
national service. Once recruited, they are assigned to mentors--- supervisors
for good on-the-job training..
33
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Other Engineering The comments of several employers in different engineering fields are
summarized below.
1. Northern Nigeria NITEL is the largest of the engineering employers listed on the left. It
Flour Mills, Kano employs graduates from various engineering fields (but especially
electronics and electrical engineering), physics, computer science and other
professions such as accounting and economics. As a government
2. NITEL, Abuja corporation, NITEL was subject to the employment freeze imposed on all
public corporations between 1993 and 1998. Prior to that, it had only 287
3. NASCO, Jos engineers in a total workforce of 11, 6000. At the time of the interview,
NITEL was planning to recruit 150 additional engineers and 50 computer
4. United Nigeria scientists. This is partly to make up for the five year freeze, but also in part
Textile, Kano because the corporation wants to have more skilled workers as it begins to
commercialize its operations.
5. Raleigh Industries,
Kano Apart from NITEL, most of the other firms were not major employers of
engineers. The sub-sector with the least demand for engineers are tanneries,
where the majority of the operations required basic literacy. Textile firms
6. Tanorth Tannery, needed a bit more skills than tanneries but they find that ordinary diploma
Kano holders meet their skill requirements. Furthermore, polytechnics offer
courses in Textile technology which universities do not.
But even in the cases such as flour mills and allied food products where
skills needed some university training, graduate demand was not very high
for a number of reasons. In the case of NASCO, little recruitment occurred
because the demand for its products was very low. During the times when
the economy was not in recession the company faced the recruitment
problem of a different kind--- many skilled young workers from the South
were reluctant to work and live in Jos.
In general, firms such as NASCO did not appear to have difficulty recruiting
good and capable engineers during times of prosperity because they went
after experienced and already well-trained engineers from other companies.
They rarely employ fresh graduates because the quality of their training is
not good. Still, even a firm like NASCO reported having trouble recruiting
chemical engineers and food technologists. Among plastic manufacturers,
their biggest problem is finding hydraulic engineers, as there are not enough
of them in the market.
34
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Accounting/Banking The main source of demand for graduates in accounting, banking, and
/Insurance insurance sector are firms engaged in financial services. However, other
corporations such as NITEL also have a high demand for accountants and
1. NCR actuarial scientists. As an illustration, at the time of the interview, NITEL
employed 336 accountants and planned to add another 100. Nor is it the
2. First Bank. case that only those trained in these fields are employed by firms offering
accounting, banking and insurance services. In fact, some of the firms
3. Bank of the North. admitted that they recruited the best candidates regardless of their field of
study. So NCR needed graduates in Mathematics, Statistics, Information
4. Akintola Williams Technology, Electrical Engineering and Business Administration, while
Adetona Ischei Hyman Robertson sought those with Mathematics, Statistics, Actuary
(AWAI) & CO. Science.
5. Price Waterhouse Other major recruiters were First Bank, which employed 420 graduates and
Cooper diploma holders and Price Waterhouse Cooper which employs at least 20
accountants each year.
6. AIICO Insurance
All these companies revealed the following: a) the quality of graduate
7. Hyman Robertson training is low, b) recruitment process is long and time-consuming because
the goal is to get the best graduates in any field who are trainable, and c)
8. Urban Development among public enterprises, political considerations in employment
Bank, Abuja. complicates the process of recruiting on merit.
Mass Media Newspaper houses recruit their staff from experienced freelance journalists
in order to meet the standards of quality demanded by consumers. They all
1. New Nigerian admit that fresh graduates generally lack the critical writing skills required
Newspaper, Kano. of a journalist.
2. Triumph However, all the newspaper houses take students on industrial attachment so
Newspaper, Kano. they can learn to write better.
3. Nigerian Tribune,
Ibadan.
35
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Medical Services It was the sentiment of the doctors that the quality of medical training is
deteriorating due to low funding, poor infrastructure (outdated and
Aminu Kano Teaching insufficient books and journals) and lack of motivation of lecturers.
Hospital, (AKTH), Consequently, current knowledge in medicine is simply not taught. In
Kano. addition, when student to teacher ratio is 30:1 in a medical class, there are
serious problems that arise in effective transfer of knowledge. The difficulty
of teaching good medical practice also manifests itself in another way in
many teaching hospitals. Since such hospitals are supposed to recover costs,
many poor families do not seek service there. So the hospitals tend to have
more and more students in an environment of decreasing patients. Such a
situation is not conducive to individualized learning by trainee doctors (that
is, students).
As a case in point, AKTH has 300 beds with about 40% occupancy rate.
Because of these problems, the doctors we interviewed point to the a
widening gap in the quality of medical knowledge between current graduates
and those trained prior to mid-1980s.
Non-Governmental Twenty-two (22) questionnaires purposely designed to collect data on the
Organizations (NGO) above were distributed to NGOs in Ibadan, Oyo State. Twenty (20) were
retrieved.
Analysis of the questionnaires shows that only 35 HND holders and 100
university degree holders were employed by the NGOs between 1990 and
year 2000. The majority of graduates employed in the NGOs held degrees
in the social sciences, business administration and banking as well as
medical science than in any other field (see Oni (2000), Table 8).
The main weakness of graduates in this sector are communication and
technical skills. They also earn significantly less ( Naira 4,500 to 7,500 per
month) than graduates in the public service.
36
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Attachment 2
List of Institutions and Individuals Consulted
PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS:
National Universities Commission (NUC), Plot 430 Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama District,
P.M.B. 237 Abuja.
Professor Munzali Jibril, Executive Secretary.
Professor Ignatius I. Uvah, Director, Academic Planning Department.
Dr. (Mrs.) F.E. Ukeje, Deputy Director and Head of Resource Planning Division,
Academic Planning Department.
Dr. A. Sambo, Academic Planning.
Dr. Ramon Yusuf, Academic Planning.
Professor Bankole Oni, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), NUC Consultant
National Manpower Board (NMB), Plot 126, Cadastral Zone A3, Garki II, P.M.B. 355, Abuja
Mr. Umunakwe. E. O. Anyanwu, Acting Executive Secretary.
Mr. I.B. Ogundana, Deputy Director.
Mr. M.K. Bolarinwa, Assistant Chief Manpower Officer.
National Directorate of Employment (NDE), Plot 1529 Nouakchott Street, Zone 1 Wuse District,
P.M.B. 104 Abuja.
Alhaji A.G. Abubaka, Deputy Director.
Federal Civil Service Commission
Mr. M. Kalu, Division of Planning, Research and Statistics.
Federal Commission on Wages and Incomes.
Enugu State Civil Service Commission
Mr. Martin Agada, Secretary
Enugu State Local Service Commission, P.M.B. 1412 Independence Layout, Enugu
Chief Sir N.E. Ogbu Nwobodo, Chairman
Enugu State Chamber of Commerce and Industries, International Trade Fair Complex, Abakaliki
Road, Box 734 Enugu
Mr. Sam C. Nwaekehe, Director General
37
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital
Dr. Musa Bordo,
Medical Director,
Kano, Nigeria
Institute of Agricutural Training, Samaru
Professor Jacob V. Poh, Director
Ahmadu Bello University,
P.M.B. 1044,
Zaria, Nigeria
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
Mr. Afan Ohanwusi,
Manager, Planning and Training,
Ibadan, Nigeria
PUBLIC CORPORATIONS:
Bank of the North Limited
Mr. Esthon V.H. Gapsisa,
Assistant General Manager (HRDC),
No. 11 Civic Center Road,
P.O. Box 211 Kano, Nigeria.
National Coal Corporation, 29 Okpara Avenue, P.M.B. 1053 Enugu, Enugu State.
Mr. Z. Mustapha,
Personnel Manager
Enugu, Nigeria
New Nigerian Newspapers
Mr. Mohammed Jega, Acting Editor,
Kaduna, Nigeria.
Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd. (NITEL)
Engr. E.C. Omeata, Executive Director, Corporate Administration.
Triumph Newspapers
Mr. Muktari Magaji
Daily Editor
Kano, Nigeria
38
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Urban Development Bank, Abuja
Mr. E.O.O. Mejule, General Manager.
BUSINESS ENTERPRISES:
AIICO Insurance, AIICO Plaza, 12 Afribank Street, Victoria Island, P.O. Box 2577 Lagos
Mr. S. A. Oduroye
Manager, Human Resources
Lagos, Nigeria
Akintola Williams Adetona Ischei (AWAI) & Co., 1 Town Planning Way, Ilupeju, P.O. Box 965
Lagos
Mr. V. G. Hammond
Principal partner
Mr. Olusegun A. Odubogun,
Managing Director
Lagos, Nigeria
Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN)
Alhaji S. A. Raji, Deputy Registrar
The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, Plot 19, Adeola Hopewell Street, P.O. Box 72273,
Victoria Island, Lagos.
Dr. Uji M. Ogubunka
Director of Training, Research and Consultancy
Lagos, Nigeria
Council for the Regulation of Engineering of Nigeria, 29 Onikoyi Road, Off Alexandria Avenue,
Ikoyi Lagos.
Evang. Olatunji O. Ayeni
Deputy Registrar/Finance and Administration,
Lagos, Nigeria
Dantata and Sawoe Ltd.
Mr. M.P. Jayachandra
Kano, Nigeria
39
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
First Bank of Nigeria Plc, 7th Floor 37 Marina, P.O. Box 5216, Lagos.
Mr. J. A. Enadeghe
Principal Manager,
Manpower Planning and Career Development
Lagos, Nigeria
Gidan Hassan Plastics Industries Ltd
Elder J.O. Aiyetan (JP)
Director, Public Relations
No. 1 Mai-Malari Road,
P.O. Box 6461 Bompai
Kano, Nigeria.
Halliburton Corporation, Plot 158 Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, P.O> Box 462, Port Harcourt,
River State
Mr. Chris Offonkansi,
Senior Human Resources Generalist
Lagos, Nigeria
Hymans Robertson , AIICO Plaza, Afribank Street, Victoria Island, P.O. 73599, Lagos
Mr. Paul Odofin
Consultant
Lagos, Nigeria
Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, IPM House IPM Avenue, Ikeja Central Business
District Alausa, Ikeja P.O. Box 5412 Lagos
Mr. S. K. Korode, Registrar
Lagos, Nigeria
Mobil Oil Corporation, Mobil House, 1 Lekki Expressway, P.M.B. 12054 Victoria Island, Lagos.
Mr. R. Bayo Akinwale,
Manager, Human Resources
Lagos, Nigeria
NASCO Management Services Ltd.
Mr. V.A.V. Bhide, Group Co-ordinator
No. 1 Ahmed Nasreddin Road,
P.M.B. 2722,
Jos, Nigeria
NCR (Nigeria) Plc., 6 Broad Street, P.O. Box 509 Lagos
Ms. Grace Titilope Adetunji
Human Resources Consultant
Lagos, Nigeria
40
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Nigerian Employers Consultative Association, Elephant Cement House (6th Floor), ASSBIFI Road,
Central Business District Alausa, P.O. Box 2231, Marina Lagos.
Mrs. H. J. Jemerigbe
Director of Training and Consultancy,
Lagos, Nigeria
Mr. T. A. Abiodun
Director, Industrial Relation and Legal Affairs
Nigerian Institute of Management, Management House, Plot 22, Idowu Taylor Street, P.O. Box
2557 Victoria Island, Lagos.
Mr. Isaac Ikem Ngwube,
Director of Training, Research and Consultancy
Lagos, Nigeria
Nigerian Television Authority, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria island, Lagos.
Mr. Jimmy F. Atte,
Directorate of Programmes
Lagos, Nigeria
Northern Nigeria Flour Mills
Alhaji Musa Kabara
Senior Manager Administration/Personnel
13, Mai-Malari Road, Bompai
P.O. Box 6007,
Kano, Nigeria
Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Limited
Alhaji M.D. Abba,
Deputy Managing Director
Plot 1144, Mallam Kuibi Road,
Kakuri Industrial Estate,
P.M.B. 2266
Kaduna, Nigeria
Mr. Michael Obi Madubuko
Assistant General Manager (Training and Development)
Plot 1144, Mallam Kuibi Road,
Kakuri Industrial Estate,
P.M.B. 2266
Kaduna, Nigeria
41
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Mercedes Benz Anamco, Emene Industrial Layout, P.M.B. 2523, Enugu
Mr. Gabriel C. Ndu
Assistant General Manager, Corporate Affairs
Enugu, Nigeria
Price Waterhouse Coopers, 26 Ajani Olujare Street, Alaka Estate, Surulere, P.O. Box 2419 Lagos.
Mr. Uyi Akpata, Partner
Lagos, Nigeria
Raleigh Industries (Nigeria) plc
Mr. Reuben A. Ogunpitan
Managing Director
11/12 Mai-Malari Road
Bompai Industrial estate
P.O. Box 2043,
Kano, Nigeria
Schlumberger, Plot 161 Trans Amadi Industrial Layout, P.O. Box 564, Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Mr. Shekhar Patel
Business Analyst
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Shell Petroleum Development Company (Nigeria).
Mr. G. Nedo Osayande
Coordinator, Corporate Technology R& D.,
Eastern Division, P.O. Box 263,
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Mr. E. O. Etomi
Team Leader,
Corporate Recruitment,
Eastern Division, P.O. Box 263,
Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Mr. D. S. Ikhile Esq.
Advisor, Graduate Programme
Registry and Logistics,
P.O. Box 230,
Warri, Nigeria
Mr. Basil Okeke,
Head, Treasury Services,
Freeman House, 21/22 Marina
P.M.B. 2418
Lagos, Nigeria
42
Dabalen and Oni Labor Market Prospects of University Graduates in Nigeria
Tanorth Tannery Limited
Mr. Francis Olumoye Gbaiyero Ojemu
Manager, Administration/Personnel,
Plot No. 70, Sharada Phase III,
P.O. Box 2470
Kano, Nigeria
United Nigeria Textiles plc
Mr. A.S. Yusha'u
P.O. Box 365
Kaduna, Nigeria
West African Portland Cement, Elephant Cement House, Asabifi Road, Ikeja Central Business
District, Alausa, P.O. 1001 Ikeja, Lagos.
Mr. Dele Dada
General Manager, Human Resources
Lagos, Nigeria
43