The Yaba College of Technology (Yabatech) has adopted a multi-faceted strategy to adequately equip students for academic success and strengthen their qualifications for meaningful employment and entrepreneurial self-reliance.

The Manager, Skills Development Centre, Yabatech,  Mr Alade Oloruntobi, made this known in an interview with  the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos.

He said that the essence was to make the graduates more relevant and align with national priorities and global trends in skills development.

Oloruntobi also said that the step was in line with the National Skills Qualification Framework.

“Yabatech remains intentional and strategic in preparing its students for the dynamic labour market by integrating academic learning with industry-relevant, practical and digital competencies.

“This foremost institution is producing graduates who are not only employable but capable of creating employment in Nigeria’s evolving economy.

“While traditional initiatives such as SIWES (Student Industrial Work Experience Scheme) and IT (Industrial Training  remain integral to the institution’s system, Yabatech has taken deliberate steps to adequately strengthen  students and staff capacity.

“We have also collaborated with national and global development partners and built strong industry alliances to enhance the employability of our graduates.

“Some of the programmes and interventions currently in place include Skills-In-Demand (SID) Training, a pioneering initiative that began as a pilot in 2021 and moved into full-scale implementation in 2023,” he said.

The manager said that Flexible Skills Development Centre was  also introduced to close the gap between academic learning and industry demand, providing practical, competency-based training.

The  manager added that Yabatech was into Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership, a gender-responsive digital skills initiative funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, and facilitated by UNICEF.

According to him, under the initiative, female adolescents  (ages 13–24) are being trained in four digital skills areas – website development, mobile app development, computer hardware repair and mobile phone repair.

“Through this programmes, Yabatech is expanding digital inclusion and promoting gender equity in tech-based employment opportunities.”

He noted that  the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Alausa, recently inaugurated Yabatech Digital Technology Academy –  a cutting-edge digital skills platform offering intensive 12-week training with  additional four weeks dedicated to project implementation