Former presidential aspirant, Kingsley Moghalu has revealed why vocational and technical skills are more important economic value in labor market.
Kingsley via his verified Twitter handle, narrated how a skilled plumber who came to fix his broken toilet lived better lifestyle due to the cost of his services rendered. According to him, everyone wants to be a banker and lawyer neglecting vocational skills which pays more.
He wrote;
”One day while working for the UN in Switzerland years ago, I called a plumber to fix a broken toilet at home. He arrived, knocked on the door. I opened. Parked in my driveway was a BMW. “Is that your car”? I asked. “Oui”, he replied. Is this a plumber?, I wondered silently.
When he finished and gave me the bill, I gasped! The link between his labour costs and the life he could afford became clear. The cost of labour is high in advanced countries because vocational skills pay. In Africa, everyone wants to be a lawyer/doctor/banker.
We need to fix our educational system to focus more on vocational and technical skills that can have good economic value in the labour market. Until we do, our universities will remain pipelines into the long lines of the unemployed.”