Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), "the unemployment rate of 23.1% and underemployment of 16.6% was worrisome, it is a worrisome status as the global poverty capital (World Bank, 2018); and concomitant high prevalence rate of crimes and criminality, including mass murders, insurgency, militancy, armed robbery, kidnappings, and drug abuse. As if this situation is not scary enough, it is projected that the unemployment rate for this country will reach 33.5% by 2020.” As the world is evolving, the rapid growth of technology, its presence & application in our everyday lives has seen the workforce requiring a different set of skills to meet the needs of today’s digital age. Unfortunately, the curriculum of the Nigerian university system is not crafted in a manner that will meet the needs of the changing workforce, leading to the majority of students either unemployed or underemployed despite their vast knowledge. This situation places a great risk on the future of work in the community.

Young people in Nigeria are faced with disruption in education and even employment which has been accelerated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Soft skills series is a social impact project aimed at bridging the skills gap amongst university graduates in Nigeria by organizing a series of workshops delivered by subject-matter experts providing them with market-ready skills, with a focus on soft skills needed to succeed in the current, fast-changing and future workplace.

The Soft Skills Series is a social impact project aimed at bridging the skills gap amongst professionals, students and graduates of higher institutions in Nigeria through a series of virtual sessions delivered by subject-matter experts providing market-ready skills, with a focus on soft skills needed to succeed in the current fast-changing and future workplace. By this, we will be actively contributing towards achieving SDGs 1, 8 & 10.

It will consist of 12 soft skills sessions fortnightly over 6 months to reach over 600 participants. The sessions will be held virtually during this period. It is designed to provide basic knowledge about important soft skills and also create awareness on the future of work.

Below are soft skill that will be covered within the period:

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  Adaptability, Working Remotely, and Cognitive Flexibility

  
  


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  Personal Effectiveness

  
  


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  Coordination and Time management

  
  


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  Communication and Collaboration

  
  


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  Complex problem solving, reasoning and Ideation

  
  


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  Creativity, originality and Initiative  

  
  


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  Critical Thinking and Analysis

  
  


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  Social and Emotional Intelligence

  
  


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  Mindsets and Attitude

  
  


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  Learning to Learn

  
  


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  Fourth Industrial Revolution (4iR) / Global Awareness 

  
  


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  Leadership and social influence