60% of employers say graduates unprepared for work
For many Nigerian companies, the challenge is no longer just finding workers. It is finding workers who can actually do the job from day one.
Across sectors, employers are quietly adjusting their expectations as more graduates enter the labour market without the practical skills required to function in modern workplaces. What should be a ready talent pipeline is increasingly turning into a training burden, with businesses forced to spend additional time and resources preparing new hires for roles they were assumed to be qualified for.
A recent report by Proten International puts numbers to this reality. Nearly 60 percent of employers say graduates are not job-ready, while more than 55 percent are working in roles unrelated to their field of study. For businesses, this reflects a deeper inefficiency in how talent is developed and deployed.
“Findings reveal significant misalignment between academic training and the competencies demanded by modern workplaces, with 55 percent of respondents working in fields unrelated to their academic background and nearly 60 percent of employers reporting that graduates are inadequately prepared for their roles,” the report stated.
A labour market mismatch businesses are paying for
The immediate effect of this gap is showing up inside companies. Hiring cycles are getting longer, onboarding is becoming more intensive, and productivity timelines are stretching as new employees require additional training before they can contribute meaningfully.
For smaller businesses and startups, this is more than an inconvenience. It is a cost. Limited budgets mean every new hire is expected to deliver quickly, but skill gaps are forcing founders and managers to double as trainers, slowing down operations and growth.
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The report identifies missing competencies in communication, teamwork, technical ability and digital literacy, areas that are increasingly critical as more businesses adopt technology and data-driven processes.
Speaking on the issue, the Managing Director of Proten International, Deborah Yemi-Oladayo, said the problem reflects a broader disconnect between education and industry needs.
“It’s not one way. If you redesign the curriculum, it means you are improving it. Then you need to retrain the people who are going to train the students,” she said.
She also pointed to gaps in lecturer development, noting that without improving teaching capacity, better graduate outcomes will remain unlikely.
“It’s not enough to expect lecturers to do magic. They can only give what they have,” she added.
Employers, in response, are placing more weight on experience than certificates. Founder of Treford Africa, Harry Enabolo, said real-world exposure is becoming a key differentiator in hiring decisions.
“Experience prepares you for a job faster than almost anything you learn. The best learning still happens on the job,” he said.
This shift is gradually changing how graduates approach the labour market, with internships, freelance work and startup experience becoming more valuable signals to employers than academic performance alone.
For businesses, however, the underlying issue remains unresolved. As long as the gap between education and industry persists, companies will continue to absorb the cost, either through extended training, lower productivity, or missed growth opportunities.
