The European Business Chamber Nigeria (EuroCham) has warned that Nigeria’s estimated $14 billion annual technical skills gap could undermine the country’s ability to fully benefit from growing European investment.
EuroCham, in a new advocacy position paper titled: ‘Bridging Nigeria’s technical workforce gap: A public-private roadmap for harmonising industrial skills and accelerating European investment impact,’ called for stronger collaboration between the Federal Government and international businesses to develop certified, industry-ready technical workers.
The Chamber said the shortage of skilled personnel was becoming increasingly critical as economic relations between Nigeria and the European Union continue to expand.
According to the paper, the skills deficit is estimated at 68 per cent in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and 63 per cent in agriculture, while the power sector is operating with only about half of the skilled workforce it requires.
EuroCham said the EU-Nigeria economic relationship currently supports more than pound 35 billion in annual trade and approximately pound 26 billion in European foreign direct investment, with the investment supporting over 130,000 direct jobs.
It added that the EU accounts for about 31 per cent of Nigeria’s total foreign trade, making it the country’s largest trading partner and single largest source of foreign direct investment.
The Chamber, however, said the pace of investment was outstripping the domestic supply of certified technicians required to implement and sustain industrial projects.
It proposed a five-point roadmap, including aligning Nigeria’s technical certification system with international industrial standards and providing tax offsets and duty waivers for companies investing in training infrastructure.
Other recommendations include digitising and expediting expatriate quota processing to facilitate structured technology transfer, introducing industry-led dual-education apprenticeship programmes with polytechnics, and establishing a unified national registry to monitor technical skills development and local-content compliance.
The Chamber said the proposals would complement ongoing government efforts in technical and vocational education, including the expansion of technical education in 2025, which enrolled about 250,000 students.
It also cited the ongoing amendment of the Polytechnics Act and the planned 2026 TETFund investment in modernising engineering school equipment as existing reforms that could support the proposed framework.
EuroCham Nigeria General Manager, Chigozie Okwara, said the chamber was ready to work with the government to expand Nigeria’s technical workforce.
He said: ‘Nigeria’s partnership with European investors has never been stronger, and this paper reflects our commitment to matching that momentum with a workforce that can deliver on it.
‘Government has already taken real steps, expanding technical education and modernising polytechnics, and we see this framework as a way to accelerate that work, not compete with it.
‘EuroCham is ready to invest alongside government to make sure Nigeria’s technical talent grows as fast as the capital coming into the country.’
The Chamber called on the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, in collaboration with the Ministries of Labour and Employment and Education, to establish a Joint TVET Steering Committee within the current quarter.
It said the proposed roadmap would be implemented in three phases through mid-2027, beginning with institutional arrangements, followed by policy integration and pilot apprenticeship programmes.