REDUCING YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT IN A DEPRESSED ECONOMY THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP TRAINING: THE TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL BUSINESS EDUCATION APPROACH

Abstract

This paper is designed to redirect the minds of Nigerian youths on the need for entrepreneurship training via vocational and technical education in resolving youth unemployment in a depressed economy like Nigeria. The concept and the potentials of vocational and technical education are discussed. The perceptions of youth unemployment as an insurmountable societal challenge is discussed by focusing on vocational and technical skills for empowering the youths with skills that facilitate a process of job creation, wealth creation, self-reliance and economic empowerment. The concepts of youth unemployment and related areas were discussed in the paper including the causes and effects of youth unemployment. The roles that vocational and technical education may play in preparing citizens particularly the youths in addressing youth unemployment are presented. These include access to short-term and medium-term technical education and provision of centers for technical and vocational education as apprenticeship centers for uneducated, semi-educated and educated youths. In the light of these issues, the authors view vocational and technical education as effective and significant tools in ameliorating the effects of youth unemployment and expanding the frontiers of employment generation, wealth creation, and self-reliance.  It recommended that vocational and technical education practitioners use their understanding of science, technology, and engineering to deal with challenges posed by youth unemployment in Nigeria.