Oloyede to students: Acquire cutting-edge skills, degrees not enough to be relevant

Ishaq Oloyede, the registrar of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), has advised students of tertiary institutions in the country to acquire skills in addition to their degrees.

Oloyede spoke on Thursday at the convocation ceremony of the Kwara State University.

The JAMB registrar said certificates would no longer be a guarantee to securing jobs for graduates unless skills beyond classroom walls are acquired. 

He added that acquiring skills would make graduates stand a better chance of creating employment for themselves.

Oloyede said merging skills with education will differentiate the graduates from illiterates in society. 

“New opportunities will emerge in the high-tech sector, and many skills that were not otherwise taught in conventional schools would be needed. Degrees would no longer be the sole guarantee of jobs, but demonstrable skills would,” Oloyede said.

“In this regard, there won’t be a meaningful difference between the literates and the illiterates without the cutting-edge skills that are associated with the triad – learning, unlearning, and relearning.

“Those who can learn, unlearn, and relearn are the successful ones, and those without the mindset that accommodates the triad are bound to perpetually lament.

“The world of today is different from the stone age; one of the factors responsible for this change is the totality of what makes the information age, which is still evolving as technology develops rapidly.

“The dynamism of the world provides new opportunities and threats. While there are new opportunities in information technology, the existing jobs as typists, receptionists, traditional printers, telephone booth operators, computer operators, factory workers, cashiers, travel agents, and fuel attendants, among others, are on the verge of extinction.

“The onus of responsibility lies on everyone to get prepared for the challenges of the information age by taking lifelong learning seriously and being willing to change as the circumstances unfold.”