Speaker
Description
Kolade, I. C. O.
Adeyemi Federal University of Education, Ondo
ceeohkaymumze@gmail.com
Track: Digital Transformation in Higher Education
In Nigeria’s rapidly evolving digital economy, a widening gap exists between higher education outcomes and the demands of the modern labour market. This mismatch significantly hinders youth employment and stalls national progress toward United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth). This study therefore investigates the impact of digital skills acquisition on graduate employability in Nigeria, specifically examining how higher education institutions serve as originators for sustainable economic integration. A quantitative research design was adopted for the study. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to a purposively sampled group of recent Nigerian graduates and corporate employers. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression analysis to determine the relationship between digital competencies and employment outcomes. Findings from the study revealed a positive correlation between advanced digital literacy such as data analytics, digital marketing and software literacy and accelerated graduate employment. However, the data also revealed severe institutional challenges, with a high percentage of respondents indicating that obsolete university curricula and inadequate technological infrastructure in the school hindered their skill acquisition. The study concludes that while digital competencies are critical for workforce readiness, the current situation of the Nigerian higher education sector is structurally under-equipped to systematically deliver these skills to graduates.
It was therefore recommended that urgent curriculum modernization, mandatory ICT integration, and targeted funding for digital infrastructure across Nigerian higher education institutions to transform graduates from job seekers into employable assets.