Despite the complaint of youth unemployment in Nigeria, has anybody pondered why so many jobs that require technical skills are so scarce among Nigerian youth? In fact, most of the technical jobs around now are being taken over by young men and women from neighbouring West African Countries e.g carpenters, masons, tilers, generator repairers, electricians, tailors, hair dressers, mechanics, AC repairers, and so forth. Many of these guys are making good money in Nigeria, and their service is not cheap. The truth is that these guys tend to do a much better job than most Nigerian technicians. A lot of Nigerian artisans, especially those in Lekki-Ajah axis of Lagos charge outrageous fees for crappy services in most cases. Infact, it seems many times, it is the least qualified people that tend to flock to this part of Lagos just to make quick money, because I heard there are much better artisans on the mainland, and also outside Lagos.
In Western countries, artisans easily make as much, and even more money than most office workers. In addition to being their own bosses, they work any time they want to, and can even afford to go on vacations. Lagos, or at least the Lekki -Ajah Axis of Lagos is becoming like that too. Nowadays, fashion designers specializing in women wears can charge anything from N5000 – N50, 000 for sewing exactly the same dress in this part of Lagos. It is all about neighbourhood and packaging! Unlike in the past when you need 2 – 3years as an apprentice in a tailor shop, you can go to a fashion school for just 6 – 9 months, and you have all the skills to start your own fashion business. That is why many women of all classes and levels including ex-bankers, lawyers, teachers, housewives, etc. are all flocking to Fashion Schools nowadays to learn fashion design.

But what about the young men, especially recent graduates? For how long would they continue to wait for jobs that do not exist? I think acquiring a technical skill is the way to go. One key advantage of technical training is that your startup capital for most of them is low, because you can start with the basic tools first, and then buy more expensive equipment later, just like fashion design. The main asset you need is the skill itself, and if you are good, the sky is your limit. One of my Cotonou generator repair boys used to have Clients in Togo, Ghana and Nigeria that he provides service for regularly. Now, he has made so much money that he has gone into importation business back in his country. It is one of the boys he trained that repairs my generator now.
I am beginning to think that this is the time that educated Nigerian youths start thinking of acquiring these technical skills in order to deliver quality service better than these people from other West African countries, and charge professional fees too. Most people would happily pay a little extra to get quality and reliable service.

Some of the areas I have personally identified, that currently has acute scarcity of good technicians are:
1. Electronics Repairers – People with good skills in the repair of modern electronics and house appliances (LCD/LED TVS, Decoders, Inverters, DVDs, etc) are extremely scarce. Rapid change in technology has made most of our older electronics repair technicians obsolete. Only the Samsung and LG trained technicians seem to be doing this at the moment, and most of them work for those companies.

2. Sewing Machine Repairs – Most of the people currently involved in these are the people engaged in the sales of imported ‘tokunbo’ machines. The good ones among men are usually much older men. With the rapid increase in fashion design businesses and fashion schools, anybody with these skills now would have a good business for years to come.

3. A/C and Refridgerators Repairs – These people are also very scarce because the technologies are also changing fast. Most of the people trained in these areas in the past are becoming obsolete fast.

4. Almost every other technical skill, but the ones I highlighted above are the ones I have really noticed around where I stay.
As my own contribution to the society, I am thinking of setting up a technical training center around Lekki – Ajah axis to train people on these skills. I am interested in Sewing Machine Technicians and Electronics Repairs Technicians, preferably with a minimum of OND who can work as Instructors or Trainers. Of course, they have to be very good in the repairs, and not book knowledge only.

People who have attended technical colleges before proceeding with their education would be especially desirable. I do not mind if they are not currently resident in Lagos. If you know anybody, with any of these skills, kindly send their CVs to kunlad(at)gmail.com, Whatsapp 08059859728 or drop their contact details on this post. Skilled people from other West African countries are also welcome!

You are also welcome to make your contribution about other technical skill areas that you think are lacking in our society.

If you are also interested in acquiring any of these skills, you may also indicate which one on this post or send me a mail. Maybe, that would encourage me to start sooner rather than later!

A wonderful and very inspirational piece you put up there bro. This is what I accept as inspirational when it comes to money making because it is very practicable, not some funny fictions like Rich Dad Poor Dad, How to Become A Millionaire and any similar rubbish. Someone is already enriching himself and you will be there playing the mugu.

I hope our youths will dedicate some fractions of the time they spend reading about Tonto Dickey, Mercy Johnson, slay queens etc to read through this reality.

Hi mr. Kunle you did not mention welding and fabrications in your list.

Nice piece OP. It baffles me that there are opportunities in the technical industries yet so much unemployment amongst the youth. For example, in the HVAC-R industry, we need technical manpower but the skills are not just there.

Kunle, l run a HVACR firm that provides technical services in automotive, residential,commercial and industrial hvacr systems.I am interested and i am also developing a new training model for hvacr. contact me on 08155463372

The problem is bad leadership & our society who makes the youths believed they must goto school to be rich, doctor, lawyer, minister, governor, MOHOA, et al before you can be recongnised or respected.
Imagine JAMB recording 1 million plus in sales of forms & most youths going into entertainment industry, not forgetting our slay queens.

It is more beneficial for parents to send their children to technical schools than universities given the Nigerian circumstances..

This is how China developed. I also agree that most artisans we have today, especially refrigerator and TV mechanics are all obsolete because they didn't update their knowledge as technology evolved. How can someone repair a fridge 3 times yet its not working ? I once had a neighbor who fixes his TV every 2 months. And the technicians will never accept that the job is beyond them.

Right now, anything that goes bad, i just sell it. Sell it to them at give away price. I once spent N40,000 fixing a refrigerator i purchased for N65,000. Yet it didn't work.

This is the way forward for Nigerian youth.

Poster, you have a good idea there. Your school will need GOOD PUBLICITY. You know our people are hardly open to new things even if what they are used to, isn't working.

@Walexz

Actually, there are many other options that are also very good technical disciplines that I didn't include. That does not mean that they are also not good areas. The ones I listed are the ones that I personally have had issues with getting the right personnel around my area. But I would also add the following:

4. Plumbing Technician: While plumbers are not that scarce, good ones are not easy to come by. One would think that this is very easy until you have had to replace your pipes or taps about 3 times within a period of 6 months. I expect an educated person should be able to learn most of the required skills in a short time.
5. Generator repair: Even though the technology has not changed so much, generator service and repair requires some technical skills which needs to be learnt from an expert. Just as we have good and bad auto-mechanics, there are also many quacks in this, which creates a huge gap if you really took your time to learn it well. The demand for this will be high for the forseeable future, as we are yet to get a solution to our power problem in Nigeria.
6. HVAC-R: This includes, but not only A/C and refrigerators that I mentioned in my earlier post.
7. Welding & Fabrication: Definitely, if you want to be able to fabricate steel structures such as sheds, warehouse, or even oil and gas structures, this is very useful skill that can be very lucrative. However, the drawbacks are that you may need some international certifications to be able to practice at that level, which makes the training cost to be relatively expensive. Also, most of the times, people learn this with the hope of getting employed by construction companies or fabrication yards, since the cost of setting up may also be quite high. I am trying to focus more on skills that you can get trained on in a very short period (3 - 6 months) and almost start earning immediately.

These are the ones that I can remember immediately. But others can also add theirs.

@HVAC Specialist
I will definitely keep in touch once I am ready to start. Although, my main reasons for choosing the first two, i.e Electronics Repair and Sewing Machine Repair are because they are less bulky, and will generally require less space for practicals. I can also easily source them around me. The same reason I did not include generators repairs or even auto-mechanics.

@400billionman

Yes you are right. But while it is difficult to ask parents not to send their children to higher institutions, it doesn't hurt anybody to learn additional technical skills just in case. It is usually much easier to start up and be making some earnings with these skills rather than waiting for years for the job that is not available, and living on your parents. The skills may also enhance your employment with bigger companies later, especially if it is in the same field of study. I used to know a very Senior Electrical Engineer, who although owns the company, used to be involved with his technicians for installation works on the field when they collect a house wiring contract. Not only can he not be cheated, he would actually make more profit because he is also a field man himself.

Also, imagine a Mechanical Engineer with the hands-on technician experience applying for Maintenance Supervisor or Manager in a company with fleet of vehicles. He is definitely going to be way ahead of his competitors without any practical skill when applying for such a position.

Hello kunle, many thanks. Actually,i believe the best practical the trainees can get is to be in the field where l also need hands. like l said, l am also developing a training program. let us discuss when you are set as earlier stated.

HVACSpecialist:
Hello kunle, many thanks. Actually,i believe the best practical the trainees can get is to be in the field where l also need hands. like l said, l am also developing a training program. let us discuss when you are set as earlier stated.

Sir, I sent u a mail through. wanna get some info on learning d things techniques involve

olakunleben16:
Sir, I sent u a mail through. wanna get some info on learning d things techniques involve

Hello, e-mail notification showing on nairaland but no mail of such in my box. many thanks.

HVACSpecialist:
Hello, e-mail notification showing on nairaland but no mail of such in my box. many thanks.

you are correct mail notification I meant ..need ur mail

Mr kunle can u please send me your mail and number u can reach me on oladimejilasisi@Gmail. Com

This is an awesome post bro. Thanks.

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Olaomoolopa:
Mr kunle can u please send me your mail and number u can reach me on oladimejilasisi@Gmail. Com

kunlad(at)gmail.com, Whatsapp 08059859728