Nigeria is at an important crossroads in the debate around skilled labour, certification, and local content. Recent statements by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology have brought the issue back to the centre of public discussion. According to the minister, Nigeria now imports certified welders at an annual cost of almost US $10 billion, largely because many local artisans lack internationally recognised credentials. He also cited the case of the Dangote Refinery, which reportedly engaged around 11,000 welders, with none said to be Nigerian because of certification requirements.These assertions have been debated , with the Nigerian Welders’ Association (NWA) contesting aspects of the figures, with claims that their members have national certification with experience in international collaborations. Nonetheless, the broader point remains clear, global certification, skills recognition, and vocational standards give access to industrial opportunities.
A significant part of the challenge begins with how young Nigerians enter vocational work in the first place. For many families, especially in low-income communities, children who cannot afford formal schooling or who struggle to cope with the academic environment are the ones most frequently drafted into artisanship. Parents often see apprenticeship as a practical safety net, a way for the child to acquire a livelihood even if the formal school system has failed them. While this pathway provides opportunity, it also means that a large share of Nigeria’s artisan workforce comes from outside structured education, limiting their exposure to science, technical drawing, digital tools, and the foundational competencies that modern industrial training requires.
To understand why this gap persists, it is also important to look at the structure of vocational training in Nigeria. For decades, artisanship has not been viewed as a prestigious pathway. Many young people enter, not through formal institutions but through the traditional Oga/boy apprenticeship system. While this model has cultural value and provides an entry point for thousands, it is heavily personality-driven. Training depends on the competence, exposure, and methods of the Oga, many of whom themselves learned through improvisation or trial-and-error. As a result, knowledge transfer is uneven, and apprentices often complete their training without documented competencies, safety-based assessments, or alignment with global occupational standards. This situation creates a structural mismatch, by which our proudly celebrated artisan tradition, which we passionately preserve, has increasingly shifted away from original craftsmanship towards trading and reselling imported products,
On the formal side, Nigeria does have institutions designed to bridge this gap. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) oversees polytechnics and vocational centres. The National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) was introduced to standardise skills, define competency levels, and create a certification system comparable to global models. The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) and sectoral bodies such as the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) also play important roles in training, assessment, and local content enforcement. Yet implementation has been uneven across states, institutions, and industries. Equipment in many training centres is outdated, curricula lag behind industry demands, teachers lack ongoing professional development, and industry linkages remain weak.
The interplay of laws compounds this challenge. The Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act (2010) requires companies to prioritise Nigerian labour and to train Nigerians for specialised roles. Its Joint Qualification System (JQS) was built to match certified Nigerians to available jobs. However, enforcement has varied, and where certification is lacking, companies justify importing labour to meet tight industrial deadlines. In addition, the provisions of the Nigerian Labour Act which regulates recruitment and work permits, are not always applied in a way that secures opportunities for local skilled workers. As a result, even when local content laws exist, gaps in certification and regulatory coordination limit their impact.
The Dangote example illustrates the complexity: a massive infrastructure project requiring precision welding, strict safety standards, and internationally verifiable competencies. In the absence of a critical mass of certified Nigerian welders, companies default to foreign technicians whose certifications are globally recognised. Meanwhile, Nigerian welders argue that they are capable. Recent statements from the Nigerian Welders’ Association (NWA) highlight this: while they refute the claim that “no certified welders exist,” they primarily reference local certification and experience in international collaborations , rather than ISO or other internationally recognised credentials. This demonstrates that the challenge is not skill, but alignment with global standards.
The federal government has acknowledged this gap and announced measures to bridge it. In 2023, the National Policy on Welding outlined plans to establish six Centres of Welding Excellence, one in each geopolitical zone, to provide training and ISO certification. As of 2025, these centres are in various stages of planning and implementation. Training programs have been initiated in collaboration with the Nigerian Institute of Welding (NIW) and other technical institutions, and there are ongoing efforts to certify welders to meet international standards. While progress is being made, full operationalisation of the hubs is still pending, showing that the policy is a work in progress.
If Nigeria is to reduce dependence on imported skilled labour, several steps are essential.
First, the NSQF must be strengthened and applied consistently, with certification becoming a non-negotiable requirement across public projects.
Second, government and private partners should upgrade training facilities, modernise curricula, and expand competency-based assessments.
Third, every major industrial project should include structured trainee placements, ensuring Nigerian artisans gain practical experience under certified supervision.
Fourth, local content enforcement must shift from paper compliance to real-time monitoring backed by transparent data.
Fifth, Nigeria should actively identify and sponsor outstanding artisans and technical talents abroad to acquire industry recognised certifications across multiple trades, in addition to their highly respected national credentials. Just as medicine, engineering, and IT have internationally benchmarked credentials, like USMLE/PLAB in medicine, PEO/PE in engineering, or Cisco/CompTIA in IT , skilled trades can similarly adopt popular standards. Examples include ISO 9606 (welding), API 1104 (pipeline welding), AWS (American Welding Society), ASME codes, electrical installation certifications (IEC/NEC standards), plumbing certifications (CIPHE/UK-based), HVAC and refrigeration certifications, and advanced carpentry or fabrication programs recognised internationally. On the fear of training labour who eventually desert the nation once accreditated. There is need to orient and instill patriotic notions in sponsored artisans, to make Nigeria priority where ever they find themselves. Sponsored artisans can also be contractually bound to apply their enhanced skills on national projects or within the local industry for a defined period. This approaches would complement their national qualifications, create a pool of highly mobile and globally competent artisans, reduce dependence on imported specialists, and enhance national pride in homegrown technical excellence.
Sixth, even when importing specialised labour becomes necessary, a mandatory percentage of workers should always be sourced locally. If indigenous but internationally certified artisans are not immediately available, companies should be required to train and prepare local talents to fill these roles within a defined timeframe. This ensures that skills importation does not bypass Nigerian workers entirely.
Seventh, the government must enforce regulations and uphold the lofty socio-economic ideals enshrined in the Chapter 2 of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, including the rights to fair treatment, equal opportunity, and protection for workers. Agencies responsible for labour inspections, technical training, and industrial regulation should monitor compliance with certification, training, and local content policies, ensuring that companies implement them in letter and spirit. I believe this should come with an improvement from existing meagre penalties to those that can effectively deter.
Nigeria’s skilled workforce is not lacking in potential. What is missing is the alignment between traditional training systems, formal certification pathways, and the current demands of industry. Closing this gap means that , Nigeria can move from importing skills to exporting them , and ensure that major national projects are built not only on Nigerian soil, but also by Nigerian hands.
Aderonke is an expert in Law, Inclusion and Community Development.
