TALENT MANAGEMENT AND SKILLS ACQUISITION IN TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION: AN ANTIDOTE TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM IN NIGERIA

Unemployment is a situation in which individuals who are active and able to work are unable to find gainful employment or are underemployed. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (2022), the unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 33.30% in the fourth quarter of 2020 from 27.10% in the second quarter of the same year. Considering this, this study investigated talent management, skills acquisition process, and employment creation goals of trainings at skill acquisition centers of technical and vocational colleges in Ondo state. Four research questions were raised to guide the study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted for this study. The study population comprises all staff and students of the seven (7) technical and vocational colleges in Ondo State. The sample consisted of 190 respondents. Multistage sampling techniques were used. Simple random sampling techniques were used to select 5 technical and vocational college skill acquisition centers in the study area. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 28 students and 10 teachers from each of the selected technical and vocational college skill acquisition centers in the study area. The questionnaire was used to elicit responses from the participants. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. The findings of the study showed that there was effective management of the talents and skills of the students of vocational and technical education, there was a moderately low level of facilities available for training and talent acquisition, the available facilities were put to maximum use, and job creation was central goal at the skill acquisition centers. Based on the findings, it was recommended that the government and other stakeholders should improve facility provision and that lecturers should give more attention to vocational and technical college students’ practical skills for job creation and survival in the world of work.