Dreamflyin: #TeamVocationalTraining.
I came from a family that made their fortune from dirt and grit - car engine rebuilders.
From when i was kid, i dreaded my dad's workshop after school hours.
Through secondary school, i cursed every single day my dad forces me to come to work during holidays.
Money made from that company already sent me to flight school overseas for pilot training. I like machines, i troubleshoot machines and i breathe and love working on any machinery.
Today, i stowed my diploma deep inside my bag, working at something i had always hated, but really loved.
I'm my own man, with a very bright future in manufacturing and service company all thanks to the skills i got from working at my dads.
I now smile as i see the Uni peeps come for IT, and try not to get dirty, but will jump into the labour market tomorrow sweating it for peanuts, when they could make a huge fortune for themselves with a skill and the sound education they got after the initial pain, ridicule and sacrifice.
Nigeria manufactures so little, and the future manufacturers got the future.
Show me someone flaunting his cert, i'll show you a big failure.

felixdanielthed:
Dangote acquired money-making skills from his uncle, was never an inborn talent took association with his uncle to unleash dat talent skills in trading bro.

Both vocational and academics should go together.

Like rich dad poor dad say universities makes u a employee not n employer

Karkarash: so are you trying to insinuate that children should shun education and go and learn barbing,tailoring,painting? why dont you start with your kids

GentleMimi: Please,let's not get it twisted.Combination of education and skills beats vocational training anyday,anytime.How many of these ''vocational workers'' are money makers? Just a low percentage.Some peeps are born wif skills,but hone those skills to perfection when they obtain education.A man who is dumb will not succeed in vocational jobs no matter his training.The fact is that a few of these vocational trainees are outrightly successful.Most are just petty petty money makers.But a well honed skill,combined with wisdom and Grace is what makes men billioniars.Dangote did not learn any vocation,neither did he go to school...he was born wif money-making skill!

sкчscrαρεr™:
Woah! I made frontpage. *slaughters chicken*

onihaxy: Have you ever wondered why vocational students don't cry of unemployment?, I think its the differences in our mentality.

Academic students in nigeria has this mentality of going to school, graduate with good grades and then becomes gainfully employed by an established organisation while the vocational students had the mentality of learning any vocational skills of their choice, (tailoring, barbing, hairdressing, etc) and after their freedom, they become there own boss by establishing themselves and start training others and the chain of self-reliant continues

Back in the 90's, the academic students always mock their counterparts in the vocational line with the mentality that they (academic student) will make a better life than the vocational students. According to a pry song we do sing in my school back then, "if u go to school, ur shoes will be making ko-ko-ka sound but if you don't go to school, your shoe sole will be flat. Meaning that if you go to school, the vocational student will be serving you and you will be there leader, though this theory works back then when there are jobs on ground for graduates after school, but in this era. The table has been turned around, the vocational graduates who are self established are now recruiting academic graduates as their children's home lesson teacher, as their P.A, some has office assistance. The worse part of it is that so many graduates are even going back to this vocational people to learn skills.

It reminded me of back in NYSC days when vocational courses like barbing, catering, event planning, beads making, and so on was introduced, I happen to pick up paint making and learn, the guy who came to teach us then came in a nice saloon car. Came up to the hall and started the lecture, you need to see the gbagaun he was throwing. As he noticed that we were laughing at him, then he paused the lecture and switched over to his life story......

He begin by telling us his academic history. He said he dropped out in ss2 due to lack of funds in 2002. How he was mocked by his friends who proceeded to university. How he went to a paint company to work as a casual staff, there he learnt basic paints making. From there, he attended a seminar on making quality paints, bought the book and then started his life from there. He said 10years later which was 2012 that he came to teach us, he said he has built 2 houses, bought 3 nice cars, became a millionaire and finally. He has trained close to 3000 B.sc graduates.

He ended his story by saying getting rich in life doesn't depend on your qualifications, your english speaking accents, but your level of understanding how to be on your own, identifying people's need and providing solutions to it and then making your own money through it. Every1 in the hall suddenly kept quiet and tears start rolling from the eyes of most of us. The practical training class became a motivational class.
So I think the academic students and graduates of nowadays should stop or minimise the mentality of going to school, get good grades, and start applying for jobs but rather learn from the vocational students who studied to be the boss of their own.
In conclusion, academic students can also learn vocations along side to be self reliant, or they should develop the mindset of creating jobs rather than hunting for jobs
Over to you fellow nairalanders, what is your own view?

Iro ni ooooo. My story made it to front page?. My sincere thanks to the moderators and fellow nairalanders.

valdprof: no matter how voracious a rat eats . It can not be a rabbit.

hotmas911: Education and schooling are two different things.

rkarang: Unfortunately, we are looking at this issue from "Naija" perspective. It's only here in Nigeria and some developing countries that 'most' graduates are not productive.

The United States, Germany and some developed countries have a huge number of graduates that are 'highly' productive.

If education is not vital to development, why does Bill Gate sponsor/award scholarship to University Researchers?

Some people have vocational certificates but are not productive at all; some tailors are now "Okada riders". Similarly, some graduates too are now casual workers @ Pure Water Industry etc.

My view is that; to be successful in any career or occupation in life, there are some factors that you need to possess which are very common among today's successful businessmen and women in the world.

hoodboy: What you people fail to realise is that learning a trade is also education, education is not restricted to the curriculum of a polytechnic or university. You are highly ignorant of you call an apprentice to has dedicated a good five to ten years of his life mastering (emphasis on mastering) a trade an illiterate. He would deftly school you when it comes to issues regarding his trade/skill/expertise.

It is highly ignorant of us when we attribute literacy to speaking English, last time I checked the japs and chinese are doing quite well without the language.

GentleMimi: I'm sorry,but i disagree wif u to an extent.Academic students are not only interested in school alone.The society and family also influences a child's passion for vocational activities.Eg. I'm a graduate and working,but i hv a passion for bead and cake making.....it all stemmed from my mum's possession of culinary skills.What makes u think the the seminar presenter wld hv had that ''mentality'',had it not been for his condition?

hoodboy: What you people fail to realise is that learning a trade is also education, education is not restricted to the curriculum of a polytechnic or university. You are highly ignorant of you call an apprentice to has dedicated a good five to ten years of his life mastering (emphasis on mastering) a trade an illiterate. He would deftly school you when it comes to issues regarding his trade/skill/expertise.

It is highly ignorant of us when we attribute literacy to speaking English, last time I checked the japs and chinese are doing quite well without the language.

I had this neighbour who was my age mate, after secondary school he opted to further his education in his father's trade as against the ivory towers, I'd be ignorant to dare call him an illiterate. Western education is good no doubts, but nothing beats hand work.

Rapmoney: I dey sorry for the person wen post this thread. So you could
actually stay in a particular place while a dude taught you
how to make vocational stuffs like paint, soap, sponge, shoe
polish? And you were happy? Common! You don't need to be
a university graduate to make stuffs like that! Why waste years
In Uni only to learn how to make stuffs like that? You should
have spent those years in learning the trade instead.

bakry86:

wetin u won make d OP do

Karkarash: so are you trying to insinuate that children should shun education and go and learn barbing,tailoring,painting? why dont you start with your kids

Orikinla: From being a tutor and interviewer, I know that majority of vocational students are intellectually re-tarded.
They lack intellectual comprehension.

In education, you are what you have chosen to be. And majority of students in Nigeria are lagging far behind intellectually.

ismokeweed: Thank u very much but I prefer to be educated.