By Joan Odafe
Nigerian youth face a future where the traditional path of employment education no longer guarantees security.
This is one of the main lessons of the fourth edition of the Aramanda report on the future of young people, organized by Chain Reactions Africa in Lagos.
The report notes that declining confidence in traditional institutions is reshaping the way Nigerian youth make decisions, seek validation and plan their future.
Franklin Ozekhome, Executive Vice President in charge of Strategy and Innovation at Chain Actions Africa, said that trust had broken in homes, schools, workplaces and religious institutions.
He stressed that institutions must look beyond age when addressing young people.
” Youth is a state. Can you understand my condition? »
” This concern about confidence reflects a broader change in how Nigerian youth perceive work, success, education and transition to adulthood. »
Adaobi Nwabuisi, CFA’s Senior Strategy Consultant, said this change was partly related to a state of mind, with youth extending beyond biological age.
Nwabuisi described youth as a community of minds, adding that individuals could stay connected to new opportunities when their minds remained free and flexible.
She stated that this attitude was increasingly evident in a work environment where careers become less linear and where only one employer does not necessarily provide long-term income, identity and security.
Stakeholders examined how the old work architecture was changing, with people moving from one role to another, developing multiple skills and reconsidering the idea of a single, fixed career.
The discussion also called into question the assumption that a university degree would remain the main asset for moving into an increasingly volatile labour market.
Speakers suggested that education should prepare individuals for a future where skills evolve rapidly and where careers can develop in several different ways.
The emphasis was therefore not simply on the acquisition of qualifications, but also on the development of the capacity to adapt, create value and recognize emerging opportunities.
Samuel Solake, Intense Group Strategy Director, said that solutions would be more effective if institutions understood the problems from a youth perspective.
He stressed the need to understand how young people think before designing solutions for them.
He also said that change must involve those who are supposed to adopt it, rather than simply being imposed from above.
“Consider these problems with the minds of young people,” he said.
Peter Adesanya, Director of Digital Marketing and Growth at CFA, has linked the evolution of the world of work to the growing importance of critical thinking.
Adesanya said that technical skills were becoming more and more easily replicated by technology, including artificial intelligence, which made the depth of thinking increasingly important.
He also pointed out that changes in the world of work do not necessarily mean abandoning the traditional structure of nine to five.
He said that workers could always perform their duties in a traditional working environment (from nine to five) while enjoying some flexibility in the organisation of their work, provided that the work requested was provided.
Eyo Inameti, Associate Director of Strategy and Innovation at CFA,
refocused the debate on balance in the face of the multiple identities, interests and career opportunities facing young people.
Inameti noted that young people were increasingly exposed to a wide range of activities and opportunities, encouraging them to approach life from a varied rather than in-depth perspective.
He warned, however, that this diversity should be balanced, as critical thinking and meaningful work also required depth.
Previously, CFA Executive Director Israel Opayemi stated that understanding how young people think is essential to understanding their behaviours and choices.
He explained that CFA’s work sought to understand how people think, what motivates them, and how these forces influence their decisions.
For Opayemi, the importance of understanding young people goes far beyond their description as a population or market.
He stated that this required listening to what influenced their thinking and behaviour, particularly in the face of the constant evolution of technology, work, culture and economic realities.
The discussions therefore suggested that Nigerian youth should not simply reject traditional careers, but evolve in a world where old guarantees are less certain.
The question is how education, workplaces, institutions and businesses can meet the needs of young people whose career paths are more defined by adaptability than by a single vocational route. (NAN)
Published by Folasade Adeniran
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