The Executive Secretary of Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board, Engineer Olawunmi Gasper has said that the graduates of technical colleges in the state have what it takes to support the manpower needs of industries.
He said that all the various companies needed to do was to invest minimal resources in polishing products of the colleges to adapt them to specific workplace requirements.
Gasper, who disclosed this in an interview with The Point, also called on private industries to support technical education by investing in the technical colleges so as to make them reliable producers of competent skilled graduates.
Speaking on the curriculum being run by the parastatal, he said that the state’s technical board was different from others, as it runs an industry-tailored curriculum.
He said, “The industries lodged a complaint that the national curriculum is faulty and that our students are not fit for purpose. So, we had a meeting with them and drew out the curriculum that will benefit both the students and the industries.”
According to him, the technical industries need not spend excess money to invite foreigners to do the jobs products of the state’s colleges could handle.
Gasper called on private industries for support, urging them to invest in the technical colleges so as to make them reliable producers of competent skilled graduates.
“We don’t see why industries will go, spend hard earned foreign exchange and bring in people. Our graduates might not be one hundred per cent fit for purpose but, you can take them and spend little money to polish’ them.
“We actually believe that we should lead by example. If we are saying we want to produce competent and skilled graduates from our technical colleges, we must act by building their confidence,” he said.
Gasper also said that a review of the curriculum, as proposed by President Muhammadu Buhari some months ago, could be a solution to the challenges with technical education.
