Our VTE curriculum is training students for jobs no longer exist

By Bamidel Michael Babatunde

A graduate of Automobile Technology from our technical college went for a job interview at Toyota Elizade. He was asked to diagnose a 2022 Corolla Hybrid using an OBD-II scanner. He could only explain the carburettor. He failed the test.

This is the tragedy of Challenge No. 6 in the VTE Policy: our curriculum does not reflect labour market needs.

The NBTE curriculum still teaches points-and-condenser ignition, while mechanics at Ladipo Market are working on direct-injection systems, CVTs and electric vehicles.

Industries need technicians who can handle sensors, AI-assisted diagnostics and solar installations, but our schools still teach obsolete trade theories from the 1990s.

The result? Employers say our graduates are unemployable. Students spend three years learning skills that industries will later have to retrain them to abandon.

This is why unemployment increases despite the shortage of skilled workers.

I advocate urgent curriculum reform. The NBTE must review VTE curricula every three years in consultation with industry players such as Innoson, Dangote, Toyota and the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), rather than relying mainly on academics.

Let 70 per cent of our curriculum be driven by labour-market demands.

We need a competency-based curriculum. If the market uses Launch X431 diagnostic tools, let our curriculum teach students how to use them. If the market is moving towards CNG and electric vehicles, our curriculum must move with it.

We cannot produce a 21st-century workforce with a 20th-century curriculum.

Review our curriculum now. Save VTE.

Babatunde, Industrial Technical Education
Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED)
Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State