The Registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, has emphasized the importance of acquiring practical skills for Nigerian youths to secure employment opportunities.
According to Oloyede, university degree certificates would soon be irrelevant, and there wouldn’t be a difference between the literate and the illiterate without demonstrable skills.
The JAMB registrar stated this during his convocation lecture titled, “Learning, Unlearning, and Relearning – Prerequisites of the Digital Age”, delivered at the Kwara State University, Malete (KWASU).
Oloyede highlighted that the rapidly evolving high-tech sector will create new avenues for employment, requiring skills not traditionally taught in conventional schools.
He cautioned that university degrees will no longer be the sole determinants of job prospects, but individuals with demonstrable skills will have an advantage.
“In this regard, there won’t be a meaningful difference between the literates and the illiterates without the cutting-edge skills that are associated with the triad – learning, unlearning, and relearning,” the Don said, emphasizing the crucial importance of the triad in life and highlighting its role as the driving force behind thriving in the modern era of information.
“Those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn are the successful ones, and those without the mindset that accommodates the triad are bound to perpetually lament,” Oloyede said.
He also emphasized that the present era is vastly different from the Stone Age, highlighting that the information age, which continues to evolve rapidly due to technological advancements, is a major contributing factor to this transformation.
Furthermore, he highlighted that the ever-changing nature of the world presents both new opportunities and threats. While there are numerous opportunities in the field of information technology, traditional job roles such as typists, receptionists, printers, telephone booth operators, computer operators, factory workers, cashiers, travel agents, and fuel attendants, among others, are at risk of becoming obsolete.
The JAMB registrar also issued a warning to the audience, as well as Nigerians as a whole, urging them to be prepared for the challenges that accompany the information age.
Oloyede added, “The onus of responsibility lies on everyone to get prepared for the challenges of the information age by taking lifelong learning seriously and being willing to change as the circumstances unfold.”
In his remark, KWASU Acting Vice-Chancellor, Professor Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, expressed optimism earlier in his address that the lecture would broaden the audience’s horizons.
He said, “Because we live in an era of unprecedented technological advancements, the lecture today would broaden our horizons. This is equally true when our educational institutions must become catalysts for transformation, preparing our graduates not just for the challenges of today but for the rapidly evolving landscape of the digital age.”
