Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has warned that university degrees may no longer be guarantees for employment in this Information Age.
Speaking at the Kwara State University (KWASU) 2023 Convocation Lecture, JAMB Registrar, Prof Is-haq Oloyede, assured that only demonstrable skills will help job-seekers succeed.
Delivering the lecture, entitled ‘Learning, Unlearning and Relearning: Prerequisites of the Digital Age, Oloyede urged Nigerians to prepare for the challenges of the Information Age by taking life-long learning seriously and being willing to change as circumstances unfold.
Noting that learning is useless without practice, Oloyede defined relearning as the ability to acquire new skills, knowledge and perspectives quickly and effectively.
He stated: “For all, the imperative of learning, relearning and unlearning cannot be over-emphasised as the tonic that gives vitality to successful living in today’s Information Age. 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 totally different from the world inhabited by our forebears. 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.”
According to the registrar, the changes of the world provide new opportunities and threats, adding that while there are new opportunities in Information Technology (IT), the existing jobs such as typists, receptionists, traditional printers, telephone booth operators, computer operators, factory workers, cashiers, travel agents and fuel attendants are on the verge of extinction.
“New opportunities will emerge in the high tech sector and many skills that were not otherwise taught in traditional schools would be needed. Degrees would no longer be sole guarantors of jobs, but demonstrable skills will. In this regard, there won’t be any difference between those who are literate and those who are illiterate without the cutting-edge skills that are associated with learning, relearning and unlearning.
“Therefore, the onus lies on everyone to get prepared for the challenges of the Information Age by taking lifelong learning seriously and being willing to change as circumstances unfold,” he stressed.
Oloyede, the former Vice Chancellor of University of Ilorin, advised the graduates to “remember that learning, unlearning, and relearning are the compasses” that would guide them in the uncharted territories of the Digital Age.
