Indigenous Technologies and Technical and Vocational Education and Training for Empowerment of Youth in Nigeria

Abstract

A society that focuses more on development of indigenous technologies creates more avenues for youth empowerment in form of paid employment and self employment. The frequencies at which indigenous technologies are deployed in solving national technology problems have immense impact on the quality of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme. An effective TVET programme is expected to empower youths with relevant vocational and technical skills needed to gain employment or to set up their own craft business and be self reliant. The high rate at which Nigerian governments depends on foreign professional craftsmen and technicians to solve national technological problems discourages the youths from focusing on indigenous technologies in Nigeria. The adoption of policies that discourages the development of indigenous technologies consequently hinders effective skills acquisition through TVET programme. This paper reviewed the situation of TVET and indigenous technologies in Nigeria with highlights on youth empowerment and TVET, skills acquisition in TVET through indigenous technologies, indigenous technologies and TVET for development of human resources, challenges to TVET and indigenous technologies development in Nigeria. Recommendations were made and it was concluded that TVET plays a vital role in enhancing youth empowerment through indigenous technologies.