The need to balance skill development and academic education cannot be overemphasized in this age because these are two essential pillars of a thriving and fulfilling career. Academic education, often offered in universities, polytechnics, and colleges, focuses on the intellectual development of students. In contrast, skill acquisition and development primarily focus on learning and improving skills to achieve either a professional or a personal goal. These two key factors are inseparable and necessary, especially in Nigeria, to have a wholesome life experience.
Undeniably, Nigeria’s higher institution faces many challenges, such as poor infrastructure and inadequate funding, amongst many others, affecting the quality of education.
Therefore, considering these factors, it is important to know that just graduating from any higher institution does not guarantee a successful career or living. Even though the Nigerian educational system necessitates that graduates go through the National Youth Service Corp ( NYSC) program, it is an amazing experience. Unfortunately, the labor market does not automatically favor anyone just because they are now graduates and have completed the NYSC program.
A report by Statista shows that about 600,000 people graduate from higher institutions yearly, and many remain unemployed, year in and out. Therefore, as the number of unemployed graduates keeps increasing, the labor market also gets saturated.
Surprisingly, research was conducted among employers, and a larger percentage of employers mentioned there are jobs available, but there are only a few efficient people to hire for the jobs. The employers stated that most Nigerian graduates lack the employability skills to excel in the labor market. Therefore, while academic education formulates the foundation of intellectual growth, skill acquisition, and development help you sail through the labor market complexities. Even though skill acquisition and development can be done at any stage of life, beginning the journey as early as possible is better.
Truthfully, the academic environment can be quite demanding, but it is also possible and achievable to begin your skill development journey as an undergraduate. However, the choice to develop a skill is not a few days’ journey, and it could sometimes take months and even years to gain mastery.
The popular phrase “Rome is not built in a day” surely applies to the acquisition and development of any skill. Moreover, one of the benefits of starting early as an undergraduate is that the pressure you experience on your journey to gaining mastery is minimal. To further explain this, I would cite an example naming the character graduate A.
Graduate A was an excellent student academically while being an undergraduate. But thought all she would need after her undergraduate studies would be her certificate without acquiring or developing some necessary skills that would give her leverage in the labor market. Joining the saturated labor market, she became bothered about never receiving positive feedback from her application. And soon realized she lacked employability skills. Graduate A feels pressured by how much she thinks she needs to learn and wishes she had started earlier.
In simple terms, employability skills combine soft and hard skills required to succeed in a workplace. Soft skills are essential and nontechnical skills that reflect your behavioral traits. Soft skills include communication, adaptability, problem-solving, leadership, critical thinking, time management, organization, and planning, etc.
On the contrary, hard skills are technical skills acquired through training and used to perform a specific job. Hard skills also offer the opportunity to be freelancers or self-employed. Examples are graphic design, copywriting, carpentry, data analysis, baking, software development, video editing, digital marketing, accounting, etc.
Now that the importance of both academic education and skill development has been established, some of the strategies to ensure an effective balance between these two concepts are further explained below:
Mindset: Achieving success in anything in life starts from having the right mindset, especially a growth mindset and not a fixed one. A growth mindset believes in stepping out of a comfort zone, while a fixed mindset expects rewards without effort. Nothing great becomes possible until the right mindset is set on course. Mindset generally summarises a person’s thoughts, attitudes, and beliefs. Therefore, a growth mindset is crucial to effectively balance your academic education and skill development.
When your mindset agrees that academic excellence and skill development are important and possible, your thoughts and actions get influenced. The right mindset will ensure you do not consider skill acquisition and development as a hindrance to your academics. Nor will you consider your academics a barrier to your skill development.
Time Management and Prioritisation: The effective planning and organization of your time is time management. And prioritization is the ability to organize your tasks based on importance and urgency. Time management and prioritization help you focus on the most important tasks you need to achieve. It helps you record more success than you can think or imagine. Maximizing your time and setting priorities is non-negotiable when balancing your academic education and skill development. You have to be sure to either set daily or weekly goals. Set time limits for the goals and take breaks when needed to get rejuvenated.
Resilience and Determination: Nothing good comes on a platter of good, and resilience and determination are great principles for success. On your journey of balancing your academics and skill development, you’d have days you want to give up on everything, but with resilience and determination, you can be sure to keep moving. You must consistently encourage yourself to keep going by focusing on why you prioritize your academics and skills development, not just either of the two.
Consistently have the picture of the future in mind, and then you get motivated to not give up. The popular phrase ‘you can’t feature in the future you cannot picture’ encourages you to keep a picture of your future in mind to keep you going on days you don’t feel like moving. However, when you break your streak, don’t stop; get up, start again, and keep going.
In conclusion, academic education and skill development are important, and none is inferior to the other. Despite your academics being your primary focus, you are encouraged to consider balancing your academics and skill development to remain relevant. Also, regardless of the reports, it’s crucial to note that, to a larger extent, job opportunities are available for students and graduates with the right qualifications and skills, Internationally and locally. There is no better time to start than now.
