The acting director-general of the Centre for Management Development (CMD), Modinat Olusoji, has advised universities in the country to make the skills acquisition programme part of their curriculum.

She made the call in an interview with journalists on Saturday in Abuja, saying this would address the issues of unskillful graduates.

“There are changes in society; things are done differently, so the curriculum we were using five or 10 years ago will not be the same thing we are using now.

“What the people are learning in the university must be related to what they are coming out to do when they graduate.

“If there is no relationship, you will just discover that you have a bundle of people with a lot of theories that they cannot put into practice,” said Ms Olusoji.

Ms Olusoji said the government and institutions must intensify efforts to include skills development in schools’ curricula.

She stressed that skills acquisition programmes will encourage graduates to have something to lay their hands on in the absence of white-collar jobs.

” They are able to develop their skills and make use of that skill to benefit the country.

“So, those are the things we need to be doing to make sure that while we are teaching them those things that have to do with theory, the practical must be going on side by side with it so that their skill can be made use of when they come out of the university,” said Ms Oluso

(NAN)