The term employability has become a common name amongst educators, researchers, and employers. It refers to the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to look for work and continue successfully in a career. Employability has been a challenge for graduates of Nigerian higher education institutions (HEIs) due to their failure to meet the current labor market expectations.

Current Nigerian graduates have consistently not acquired the skills needed for success in the workplace to learn and thrive continuously in a rapidly changing world. HEIs have been blamed for producing graduates who fail to meet employment demands in the labor market. Several distortions in the higher education systems are responsible for youth not being able to obtain and keep employment.

Failures to collaborate are obvious as employers continue to voice concern that the curriculum and standard teaching methods are not generating the graduates and future leaders they desire to hire.

Unemployment has been a problem in Nigeria for many years now, and this has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 2015, the unemployment rate has tripled, and the government anticipated nearly 40 million job losses in December last year as a result of the virus.

Young people in Nigeria have been particularly affected by these issues within the job market, and many people are looking for work at the moment. One of the best things you can do to get a job in this difficult time is to upskill, so you can fill a gap in the job market and guarantee your future job security. Today we’re talking about the most in-demand skills for employability in Nigeria, to help you on your way.

What skills are employers in Nigeria looking for?

This isn’t a straightforward question to answer. In reality, the skills you’ll need will depend on the job you’re applying for and the type of company you want to work with. However, there are some reports that highlight where some of the top skills in Nigeria might be.

We’ve taken a look at some of the data out there, including in-demand and well-paying jobs, to pick out some of the top skills in Nigeria at the moment.

Hard skills

First, let’s look at some of the in-demand hard skills employers are looking for. These are the job-specific qualifications that you’ll need to succeed in a particular role. They’re the skills that can be taught in a formal and structured way. Some of the top hard skills in Nigeria include:

Digital marketing

As the world becomes more digital and everything moves online, the need for digital skills such as digital marketing increases. Nigeria is no exception here, and digital marketing skills are highly in demand, as every business needs to use digital marketing to gain customers.

Digital marketing specialists with skills in areas such as SEO, PPC, and Google Analytics will find many opportunities in Nigeria’s job market.

Computer programming and coding

The IT sector is growing and growing in Nigeria. The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy in Nigeria suggested that figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that the ICT sector would double the contribution made by the oil and gas industry to the country’s GDP in the next two years.

Within the IT sector, computer programming and coding are hugely popular and useful skills to have. As more Nigerian companies move online, they need programmers to design, develop, and test software for them. The most in-demand programming languages are MySQL, Python, and JavaScript, and the wage for junior developers in Nigeria is 62.5% higher than the minimum wage.

Fashion design

Fashion is extremely popular in Nigeria, so there will always be a demand for fashion designers who demonstrate creativity and passion. Fashion demand skills are high in demand, and the industry has provided an escape from unemployment and poverty for some of the Nigerian youth.

If you dream of setting up your tailoring shop or fashion line, there is potential to acquire the right skills in under a year in Nigeria. You’ll need practical experience in fashion design and creating garments, but also some knowledge of the industry.

App development

This ties in well with coding and programming skills, but app development is specifically in demand in Nigeria. Mobile app developers create, develop and manage new programs and applications that help companies stay up to date in the digital sphere. Many businesses want to create apps for use on smartphones, computers, tablets, and more, and that’s where you come in.

Soft skills

When it comes to employability skills in Nigeria, practical knowledge is certainly important. However, many employers feel that interpersonal and transferable skills are just as important as hard skills. Here are some of the soft skills that are sought-after at the moment:

Teamwork

Whatever job you work in, the chances are that you’ll need to work with other people. Teamwork skills are some of the most essential ones out there, yet many people don’t spend the time developing them. If you can demonstrate efficiency in this area, you’re sure to stand out to employers.

Management and leadership

No matter what job role you’re in, being able to show management and leadership qualities can make you stand out from the crowd. Often, these skills mean that you work well with others and bring out the best in them. They tie into many other abilities, such as organization, problem-solving, and productivity.

Adaptability

If the last 12 months have taught us anything, it’s that we have to be flexible and adaptable when reacting to change. In uncertain times, those who can show resilience and dependability, as well as other such leadership skills, can be invaluable to employers.

It’s no news that Nigeria has based her economic mainstay on Petroleum and the country gets most of its revenue from this source, this explains the reason why the young people of the country tend to pursue a degree concerning the oil-based discipline. An average Nigerian believes a man working in the Oil Company earns a fat salary and rightly so.

The young minds of the country tend to however get their minds clouded by this notion, as well as the need to get other “neat jobs” like being a Doctor, a Pharmacist, and so on, this is to say that only a few young Nigerians partake in the Technology field intending to pursue a career relating to it.

Truth be told, the Oil industry is crowded, Doctors are becoming less needed by the day, however, today, Tech Jobs are very open and can employ as much as possible with reasonable experience. This field is one of the most sought after in other highly developed Nations and tends to bring in a lot more revenues to them more than Oil brings to Nigeria as the World is currently going “more-tech”.

The fact is that among the top 50 best-paying jobs in the world, tech jobs occupy almost half of the entire list and this will only increase as the search for tech workers increase.

Nigeria is doing well in catching up when it comes to technology and the tech-related jobs are increasing by the day, here are the top 10 Tech-based jobs in the country.

1. Software Developer

This is where most of these tech jobs fall under. A Software Developer or Programmer or Coder is someone who simply creates Computer Softwares. They use a series of languages and codes to create applications, commands, and tasks that run the computer.

They are highly sought after and are one of the highest earners in the World. A Software Developer must be creative and must be an expert in coding as well as utilization of the computer system as a whole.

Click here to view software developer jobs 

2. IT Program Manager

An IT Manager has a lot of responsibility on his sleeves. He or she manages the company’s IT infrastructure and also manages all projects relating to information in the company. They oversee and determine the timeframe of an IT project from updates to outages.. they plan, coordinate and direct all activities relating to the Company’s Information System.

Click here to view IT manager jobs

3. Software Development Manager

A Software Development Manager simply leads a team of Software Developers. He/She is tasked with hiring and training staff of related companies, creating budgets and documentations then providing reports to those at the top hierarchy.

Click here to view software developer jobs

4. Security Engineer

A company can lose a good amount of its revenue and assets if its security system is breached by a dark hacker. Lots of secret information including passwords and strategies can be leaked which may lead to loss and this is where the Security Engineer comes in.

A Security Engineer combines a variety of skills to design, utilize and monitor various systems that secure a company’s network and software, protecting and shielding its assets from unwanted Intruders. They’re a very important branch of any company.

Click here to view Security Engineer jobs

5. Digital Marketer

A digital marketer or a digital marketing manager is a person whose task is to develop, implement and manage marketing campaigns to promote a company and its products and/or services. He/she s a major PRO of the company as they are essential in promoting awareness about the Company to the general public, hence selling their goods and services rather easily. Marketing is a major factor for any company, hence the importance of a skilled Marketing Manager.

Click here to view Digital marketer jobs

6. Mobile Application Developer

The world has gone digital, 90% of the World Population uses a mobile phone of some kind and over 60% uses or have used a smartphone in this generation. Looking at the Google Play Store, for example, it is the official Android Application store and contains over 2.7 million applications.

The job of an App developer is primarily to create and design applications for particular purposes to serve a particular set of people. These Mobile Application Developers possess a skill in coding and can grow their niche into Web Applications. They can work for companies but can also be independent and ways of earning are flexible.

Click here to view Mobile app developer jobs

7. Data Analyst

Data Analyst is one of the highest paying IT Jobs in Nigeria. They are professionals saddled with the responsibility to analyst raw data or samples to come up with the best possible ways, it can be applied to profit a business/ company.

A typical entry-level data analyst in Nigeria earns between N120,000 – N240,000 monthly. The job comes with flexible working hours with attractive allowances. One of the fastest-growing fields in IT is data analytics.

Most times, a degree in computer science, information management, economics, mathematics, and statistics makes a better data analyst. The job requires a lot of calculations and methodologies.
That been said, anyone can become Data Analyst provided you master all the required skills and software. Some of the programming tools used by Data Analysts include Python, Power Bi, etc.

Click here to view Data analyst jobs

8. Network Engineers

Network engineers are one of the highest-paying IT Jobs in Nigeria. The industry has evolved over the years. One good thing about IT is the fact that the industry keeps charging, so to stay relevant in information technology, you’ve to be updated at all times. Network engineers in Nigeria still earn pretty well. On a salary survey for engineers, an entry-level network engineer earns between N100,000 to N170,000 monthly.

There are certifications expected of a network engineer these certifications include; Cisco network certifications and Microsoft network certifications.

Click here to view Network engineer jobs

9. Database Administrator

The Database of a company is one of its most important assets. Here, records and tracks of the company’s staff, activities, customers, inventory, and transactions are kept. It contains an invaluable set of information which is very useful and can be essential in future decisions. A Database Admin is the person that runs it and they earn a lot as it is not a very easy task.

Click here to view Database administrator jobs

The pace at which the marketing discipline evolves each year is challenging for both individual marketing experts and companies as systems, which are permanently competing for global consumers. With the development of the Internet as the main channel and best opportunity for the implementation of the optimal “one-to-one” marketing model, Internet marketing as a new area of marketing theory and practice has emerged and is constantly improving.

On the other side, the power and attractiveness of online surroundings have also transformed the way consumers behave, creating new patterns and lifestyles that have to be taken into account when creating appropriate Internet marketing strategies, far different from the traditional ones.

Following improvements in mobile and tablet technology, together with social media, marketing has set itself in a new, complex, and challenging market environment. The Internet has become the primary business playground and the most popular communication channel, creating new rules and new roles on both supply and demand side, and Internet marketing and e-commerce have emerged as major preoccupations and business skills in all industrial branches. Marketing has become a completely new discipline today compared with the one that was known a decade ago, making traditional marketing methods less effective and expensive.

The most common comparison is made between Digital and Internet marketing. These two terms are similar but not synonyms. Even though Digital marketing is also known as Internet marketing, online marketing, web marketing, or data-driven marketing [4], it is the umbrella term for a group of marketing processes that exploit all available digital channels and Internet technologies intending to promote branded products and services. Its development is a direct result of the increased electronic data, digital media usage, and its impact in the business sphere globally. So, its development has primarily followed Internet improvements, which is the reason why it has so many manifestations.

WHY DIGITAL MARKETING:

If a business is thriving, it’s growing. Its revenue is increasing by leaps and bounds. Company employees are happy, and the owner is excited. It feels good to be in charge of a growing business. The role of digital marketing is essential for business growth in today’s day and age. Are you taking advantage of the Internet and advertising your business through online strategies. The world of digital marketing might seem confusing, so let us break it down for you. According to HubSpot, digital marketing refers to any marketing effort that involves the Internet or an electronic device. If marketing exists online, it’s classified as digital marketing.

Digital Marketing has been rising in popularity over the last several years. And there’s a simple reason why: the world is online. Technology Review gives us the stats–in 2000, the average American spent about 9.4 hours online. Today, most people spend 24 hours a week on the Internet, most of the time using their smartphones. Internet usage is growing, and as a business owner, you’ve got to take advantage of this. Know where the role of digital marketing stands in your business — or you’ll be left behind. If you have a small business or a start-up, you probably don’t have much money, time, or manpower to invest in traditional marketing techniques. But that’s okay! You don’t need a fancy building with hundreds of people on staff. You just need a simple but solid digital marketing strategy.

1 Offline Marketing

Offline marketing is the process to create brand awareness and reach till target customer satisfy their needs and wants. In many occurrences, individuals adopt a marketing mix strategy for their business promotion.

The entire plan behind the offline promotion is to obtain leads when there is no website for your business. There are many forms of offline marketing strategies such as through print media as well as non-print media. Offline marketing media includes Television, Radio, Brochure, Flyers, Banners, Newspapers, Pamphlets, Posters.

Offline marketing tools offer various benefits, Of course, the first benefit is that with offline marketing, a business doesn’t have to be dependent on an internet connection. If a web server goes down and a website is no longer accessible, that’s valuable custom and discoverability potentially lost. A smaller business may take a while to get back online during which vital customer attention may have been spent elsewhere.

With offline media there are no such worries, it exists in the real world and cannot be taken off the grid. Another benefit may be somewhat less tangible but no less important and that’s that digital marketing is seen by many customers and clients to be throw away. People are so used to seeing advertisements, pop-ups, and marketing emails that they don’t even notice them anymore.

2 Online Marketing:

Online marketing is the process to catch the attention of potential customers for business through a particular banner, articles, video, images, flash animation, etc. Marketing activities or information are planned as an elegant tempt to the visitors in which particular website of business wants to attract.

This information is particularly placed on the main page or front page of a website to reach key audiences. It has many ways to be done possible to get traffic for business through online marketing principles.

Online Marketing is the practice of leveraging web-based channels to spread a message about a company’s brand, products, or services to its potential customers. The purpose of online marketing is to get people to visit your website and then convert those visitors into paying customers.

That’s what online marketing is all about. It has the same set of objectives like Establish and build brand recognition, Determine Pricing and make offers, Run advertising campaigns, promotions, discounts, and specials, etc. Online marketing media includes Website/Blog, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Search Engine Marketing, Content Marketing, Video Blogging, Online Classifieds.

7 of the Hottest Digital Marketing Jobs

1. Content Managers & Strategists

Content management is a central role for any agency or digital marketing team as it touches on almost all levels of marketing – and it encompasses much more than just writing and social media activity.

Content managers need to understand not only how to create SEO-friendly content from the ground up, but how to organize, store, and manage it as well. They need to understand how it feeds into different subsets of the marketing plan. They also need to have a grasp on how to develop and share the huge variety of content that is out there.

Content managers may be in charge of social media strategy, managing a team of writers, developing editorial calendars, creating engaging videos, reporting and strategizing using analytics, and a whole range of related activities. They need to be able to coordinate teams and work with a diverse range of clients.

To this end, they not only need to be great writers, but they also need to be able to create stellar content that works across multiple channels. They also need to be good at relationship building, creative, organized, and self-motivated.

Click here to view digital marketing jobs in Nigeria 

2. Virtual Reality Developers and Editors

This is quite a high-tech job but it’s so new and interesting and there’s plenty of room for those who are in the realm of creative – tech. If you are someone with a background that combines technology and creativity, if you are into graphics or even special effects, virtual reality might be a great field for you.

People come into virtual reality from the video arts or if they are well versed in various creative software suites. You may end up with a director-type role or start as an assistant, tester, or editor.

As a product, VR is still quite expensive to purchase and is a highly specialized field. It is being used more and more in digital marketing campaigns and to this end, those that have a strong foundation in technical arts and digital marketing manager will be highly valued.

Click here to view digital marketing jobs in Nigeria

3. SEO/SEM Specialists

SEO and SEM are crucial for a solid digital marketing campaign and to this end, anyone who can demonstrate a piece of solid technical knowledge and combine it with digital marketing expertise, especially in the managerial end of the spectrum, will be the highest earners in this field.

SEO and SEM are difficult to specialize in, in part because search engine algorithms are always fluctuating. Businesses must stay up-to-date to have a consistently high ROI and the bigger the business is, the more complex this can be. In addition, e-commerce sites and those that depend highly on internet traffic for profits will be particularly dependent on a strong SEO / SEM strategy.

Most businesses will want to rank high, so they will need people with deep expertise in these areas and this trend is not likely to slow down, especially as digital technology continues to permeate more and more aspects of our lives.

Click here to view digital marketing jobs in Nigeria 

4. UX Designer

User Experience (UX) designers are responsible for the end-to-end development of websites and digital marketing applications. They may or may have a deep technical background or they may be better versed on the design end of the spectrum.

UX designers are focused on understanding the website from a whole marketing experience, and to that end, they need to understand audiences as well as have an in-depth knowledge of the product or service a given client offers.

They will typically take the lead role in project management for visual design and testing, with a specific eye on the usability of a website or application from start to finish.

Click here to view UX jobs in Nigeria

5. Email Marketing Specialist

Email marketing is an example of a specialized area of content development and marketing. People in charge of email marketing are typically extremely well versed in marketing as well as copywriting and editing.

Email continues to be one of the strongest modes of content out there. To do this well you need to be able to write persuasively. You’ll also be in charge of campaigns, launches, and PR activities based on extensive databases of customer data and various lists.

Email marketing is primarily a lead-generating activity and thus specialists would likely be working in tangent with digital marketing and/or content managers on targeted campaigns.

Click here to view digital marketing jobs in Nigeria 

6. Digital Marketing Managers & Directors

CMOS and VPS can expect to make well over 100 K per year, as can creative directors. This takes years of experience in the field but this may not take too long if you have plenty of managerial experience under your belt.

An effective digital marketing manager or creative director needs to have a solid grasp of everything to do with marketing and business. They must be extremely well versed in strategic planning and execution, as well as financial forecasting. And they must be able to delegate while taking risks and holding firm on decisions.

7. Analysts & AI Specialists

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’re probably aware that AI (Artificial Intelligence) is one of the hottest up-and-coming technologies and it’s not about to go away soon. And with the rise of big data, anyone who can create systems to analyze this information in such a way that it can be applied to strategic marketing will be highly in demand.

Most people who specialize in these areas will have technical degrees and a computing science background. If this is something you’re interested in, you’ll want to get a solid understanding of data optimization and machine learning, as well as have an in-depth knowledge of programming.

Data analysts will always be in demand as the world becomes more and more data-dependent because of, for instance, the Internet of Things.

Click here to view data analyst jobs in Nigeria 

Tips for Improving and Transform your Digital Marketing Skills

Anyone involved in business marketing or leadership should consider their current and potential level of digital marketing skills as highly valuable – because indeed they are. Even if they’re not super high-tech.

But if you don’t feel that you’re that technologically aware or advanced, don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to acquire digital marketing training to learn and grow your skills, even if you don’t feel you have the time or resources to go back to school full time. Online learning and e-learning are keys to success for many, especially those who want to pivot existing skills mid-career.

Here are a few ideas:

· Take an online digital marketing course
· Build your website
· Network like crazy in the field of specialization that you are interested in
· Conduct informational interviews
· Subscribe to blogs that offer free learning resources regularly
· Engage in Facebook groups in your area of interest

There are a few specific subsets of skills that you can work to improve on from the comfort of your own home. For instance, content development and marketing, WordPress, SEO, and marketing automation are all areas that will continue to be in demand.

No matter what you choose to specialize in, everyone will need people with digital marketing experience, and even if you’re not technically minded, there are still plenty of opportunities to develop the career of your dreams in digital marketing and earn a comfortable income.