The objective of this paper is to underscore the importance of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) as veritable tools for addressing and stemming the conscription, perpetuation and proliferation of myriads of criminalities across Nigeria, especially among the youths. It has been established that the instrumentality of TVET, especially in the form of short-term vocational training, provision of vocation-specific starter packs and post-training support, can go a long way in decreasing unpleasant activities in communities. It has also been proven that skill acquisition... [+] Show more
The objective of this paper is to underscore the importance of technical, vocational education and training (TVET) as veritable tools for addressing and stemming the conscription, perpetuation and proliferation of myriads of criminalities across Nigeria, especially among the youths. It has been established that the instrumentality of TVET, especially in the form of short-term vocational training, provision of vocation-specific starter packs and post-training support, can go a long way in decreasing unpleasant activities in communities. It has also been proven that skill acquisition training and empowerment programmes are a vital platform for taming pervasive unemployment, burgeoning poverty, escalating insecurity, and destabilising communities in countries like Nigeria. Situational analysis reveals that due to the shortage of vocational skills among the youth, some of them retrogressed to engaging in various heinous and horrendous crimes as a means of livelihood. These crimes include armed banditry, commercial hostage-takings and kidnappings, contract killings and assassinations, armed robberies, sponsored riots, criminalised agitations, internet frauds, thuggery, trafficking in illegal arms, faking of goods, services and products, livestock rustling, blackmailing, sponsored protest marches, illegal bunkering, sea piracy, oil facilities vandalization, setting up and operating crude illicit oil refineries, extortions, collection of unlawful levies and so on. For effectiveness, the TVET implementation strategies entail vocation-specific training, entrepreneurship development training, functional soft and life skills training, training in the usage and application of vocation-specific starter packs, the actual provision of starter packs and post-training support. The paper also advocates the teaching and learning of vocation specific trades (VSTs) or micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) alongside conventional academic curriculums to get a liveable wage after graduation. Livelihood enhancement is the only key to poverty reduction as the UN has declared the next ten years as a decade of action on achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) across the globe.
Published abstract.
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