Jane Salihu
The Federal Government has intensified its partnership with the United Kingdom to equip Nigerian youths with globally competitive skills through expanded Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), digital learning, and apprenticeship programmes.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, disclosed this during a bilateral meeting with UK Minister of State for Skills, Baroness Jacqui Smith, on the sidelines of the Education World Forum in London, according to a statement issued on Friday by the Minister’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications, Ikharo Attah.
The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation in skills development, TVET reforms, digital education, and workforce readiness as part of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Alausa said the Tinubu administration was repositioning TVET as a major driver of employment generation, industrial growth, innovation, and national productivity by aligning education reforms with labour market demands.
He identified clean energy, healthcare, engineering, digital technology, and artificial intelligence as priority sectors critical to Nigeria’s economic transformation.
The minister explained that the Federal Ministry of Education was implementing a modern skills framework built on quality assurance, stronger industry participation, globally recognised accreditation, and structured apprenticeship pathways designed to meet evolving workforce needs.
He added that collaboration between Nigeria and the United Kingdom would involve Federal Technical Colleges, the National Board for Technical Education, IQM, and other institutions in areas such as curriculum development, staff exchange programmes, accreditation alignment, and skills-matching initiatives.
Both countries also agreed on plans for UK skills institutions to visit Nigeria to jointly develop programmes in clean energy, healthcare services, engineering, digital technology, and artificial intelligence.
The discussions further explored apprenticeship models aimed at improving the alignment between training outcomes and industry demands while ensuring quality delivery and appropriate programme duration.
Alausa also urged continued UK support for the Global Partnership for Education 2026–2030 Replenishment Campaign, which Nigeria will co-host with Italy during the margins of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2026.
In her remarks, Smith commended Nigeria’s ongoing education reforms and expressed support for deeper bilateral cooperation in skills development, while pledging to advocate sustained UK backing for the education replenishment campaign ahead of the September 2026 event.
The development underscores growing Nigeria-UK cooperation in education and skills development aimed at building a globally competitive workforce and expanding opportunities for Nigerian youths.
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