Wrong Course, No Skill: Why So Many Graduates Are Jobless

 Preamble

Last week, Tolu called me. A first-class graduate in Political Science. Two years after NYSC, he’s still “helping” at his uncle’s shop.

“I studied what my dad wanted, not what I wanted,” he said. “Now I can analyze the 1999 Constitution, but I can’t use Excel. I can’t even design a simple poster for the shop.”

Tolu isn’t lazy. He’s a victim of two things killing graduate employability in Nigeria: wrong course choices and lack of skills.

1. The Wrong Course Trap

Most students don’t choose their course. JAMB cut-off marks choose it. Parents choose it. “At least it’s in the university” chooses it.

So we have:

  • Mechanical Engineering graduates who have never held a spanner or opened an engine.

  • Mass Communication graduates who can’t write a press release.

  • Computer Science graduates who have never coded beyond “Hello World.”

A degree should reflect passion and purpose. When it doesn’t, you spend 4-5 years building a qualification you may never use. That’s 4-5 years lost to unemployment from day one.


2. A Certificate Without Skill Is Empty

The university taught you theory. The market demands skill.

Employers don’t first ask, “What was your CGPA?” They ask, “What can you do?”

  • Can you manage social media?

  • Can you analyze data using Excel or Python?

  • Can you fix, build, design, sell, write, or code?

A graduate who can’t do any of these is competing with 100 others who also have “B.Sc” on paper. The one who gets the job is the one who can show proof of work.


3. Skills Are the Future, Certificates Are the Key

AI and automation are taking over routine jobs. The only people safe are those who can do what machines can’t - or those who can use machines better than others.

A degree gets you past Human Resources (HR). A skill keeps you employed and makes you promotable.

Learn coding, graphic design, video editing, digital marketing, tailoring, welding, plumbing, data analysis, or photography. Anything that solves a real problem for someone willing to pay.

Start in 100 Level. Use YouTube, free Coursera courses, Google Digital Skills, or apprenticeships. Don’t wait until 400 Level or NYSC. By the time you graduate, you should already have clients, a portfolio, or a side hustle.


4. What Needs to Change

Students

Stop waiting for the school to make you employable. Take responsibility. Your future won’t wait for Senate approval.

Universities

Make skill acquisition practical and credit-bearing. Stop treating it like a week-long carnival during convocation.

Parents

Support your child’s interests and skill path. A first-class degree in a useless course is still unemployment with honors.

Conclusion

A degree opens the door. But if you walk in empty-handed, you’ll walk out the same way.

Learn a skill. Build a portfolio. Become useful. That’s the only way to beat the unemployment trap.

Call to Action

What skill are you learning right now as a student? Drop it in the comments. Let’s build a list of marketable skills for the next edition of CampusDialog.


CampusDialog Student Edition

Ambrose Odiase, FIPMA, MANUPA, MAUA (UK)
Founding Editor/Publisher, CampusDialog

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