SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES IN TECHNOLOGY AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN NIGERIA: PATHWAYS TO ECONOMIC RESILIENCE AND YOUTH EMPOWERMENT

Abstract

This article discusses how sustainable practice, especially in the field of Technical 
and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), can be described as 
transformational in the realization of youth empowerment, economic well-being, 
and inclusive development in Nigeria. Nigeria has high youth unemployment of 
53.4 percent and over 60 percent of the population under the age of 25, which 
translates to the fact that the nation is in dire need of scalable, job-relevant 
education systems. Despite the strategic importance, TVET is not funded well, is 
underrated, and is unrelated to the demands of dynamic labor markets. The current 
paper is a compilation of recent empirical findings and policy briefs and theoretical 
evidence to assess the current state of TVET in Nigeria, to formulate systemic 
problem areas, and to prescribe effective action-based measures that can be 
implemented in bringing sustainability into the operating image. The paper 
examines the role of green skills incorporation, curriculum modernization, teacher 
education enhancement, and collaboration with the population and industry in 
enhancing the quality, relevance, and long-term sustainability of TVET is founded 
on a qualitative synthesis and descriptive literature review. The findings show that 
sustainable TVET practices (training in renewable energy, learning competencies, 
digital transformation, and entrepreneur development) can significantly increase 
graduate employability and help meet the national development goal (ex: climate 
action and industrialization). The paper concludes with an opinion on the 
sustainable national strategy of TVET based on policy coherence, institutional 
reform, gender inclusion, and cooperation of the stakeholders. It requires a 
paradigm change in the way Nigeria views and invests in technical education, not 
as an alternative but as a foundation of a robust, green, and inclusive economy.