5 Benefits of Knowledge-Based Economy and Youth Unemployment in Nigeria

In this concluding part of the Knowledge-Based Economy and Nigeria economy, we shall be discussing 5 benefits of knowledge-based economy in Nigeria economic development quest.

What makes the difference among academics all over the world is their ability to use acquired knowledge to solve real life problems in the society. Drucker, (1993) considers the knowledge one has today as knowledge that enables action. And such knowledge is information in action and information focused on results.

As stated with emphasizes in the first and second posts of the series, knowledge has always been at the core of any country’s economic development processes, this is where in fact all levels of education have their roles to play in the pursuant of knowledge-based economy: primary education is the “foundation for lifelong learning” (Utz 2006); secondary education, through general and vocational courses, raises the productivity and trainability of the labor force; and tertiary education teaches critical thinking and the ability to solve problems and make use of new technologies.

Tertiary institutions are pioneers in knowledge-based societies for information development. They are considered as centers and sources of consuming and producing information and most raw materials used in academic trainings are allocated to information exchange process. Therefore, there is need to harness and manage holistically the available wealth of knowledge (universities graduates) towards producing students that on graduation would either become entrepreneurs or professionals and consultants in their areas of specialization.

As knowledge is ever changing, obtaining, processing and utilizing new information and data becomes paramount, the need to adapt to new circumstances is therefore integral to the role universities graduate have to play in job creation and economic development in a knowledge-based economy.

These role roles include but are not limited to:

1. Advantage of New Job Opportunities: New conditions of the of the 21^st century economy have altered the employment structure of the world in general and Nigeria in particular. While recent graduates are suffering in today’s labour market in search of gainful employment, the rise of knowledge-based work is creating renewed demands for high level skills within our economy and evidences show that Nigeria economy has the potential to successfully adapt and exploit local resources to expand graduate employment and productivity using improved knowledge.

Knowledge-based economy in other words has presented new opportunities for highly skilled and talented individuals. Human capital (and universities graduates with specialized knowledge) has become the driver of economic progress and national comparative advantage through knowledge driving sustainable economic growth and development all over the world.

As the economy increasingly relies on the brains of the workforce, companies are believed to be able to prosper and gain advantage through the human capital base of their workers and are thus in constant search for appropriate knowledgeable workers for recruitment.

Knowledge-based economy have the potential to give Nigeria universities graduates greater opportunity in taking advantage of their skills and abilities and sell themselves and their services to employers easily. Individual universities graduates can therefore through there acquired knowledge exploit the new conditions of the knowledge-based economy and create their own market value.

2. Self-development and Continuous Learning: The growing importance of the knowledge-based economy means that, in this era of accelerated knowledge creation and knowledge destruction it is necessary for university graduates to continuously update their knowledge and competencies in other to be employable and to remain employable. Through acquisition of appropriate knowledge for example all work that can be “digitized”, automated, and outsourced can be done by the most effective and competitive individuals or enterprises, wherever they are located.

Simply producing more graduates will not be enough to secure the future workforce we need amidst changing work demand/requirements.  For most graduates, the detail of the subjects learnt at university is of little practical relevance to their future professions. However, it is the continuous knowledge of how to acquire, process, synthesis and communicate information developed in the pursuit of these that is of future value for job creation, it is therefore essential that our graduates should develop and continuously develop the necessary qualities needed by employers and economic development of Nigeria.

3. Mobilization and Utilization of Local Resources: As seen above, the first step in becoming a full-fledged knowledge-based economy is to use and apply global knowledge in local production processes to improve efficiency and quality of products and services. The importance of knowledge on an economy not be seen as limited to high-tech industries and cutting-edge researches but applies to application of acquired and improved knowledge to any production processes provided efficiency and effectiveness in resources allocation is achieved. 

World Bank emphasizing this point wrote “coupled with the use of existing knowledge in a variety of circumstances, not just in leading-edge scientific discoveries knowledge has become essential in both “doing things better” and “doing better things” (World Bank, 2005).

4. Driving Global Competition: Acquisition and application of appropriate knowledge anchored by knowledge-based economy in the globalized world is imperative in participation, maintaining and benefiting from globalization and economic integration. Universities graduates involvement in global economic competition in Nigeria can mean the difference between developed and underdeveloped economy, and employed and unemployed graduates.

In order to benefit from competition in the global economy of the 21st century, Nigerian universities graduates must take the opportunity provided by the government investment in knowledge-based economic development strategy to participate in global economy.

US former Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao explained it as follows in 2005:

We maintain our competitive advantage by increasing the skill levels […]. The needs of the 21st century economy are very different than those we have encountered in the past [...]. The fastest growing jobs of the future will need to be filled by ‘knowledge workers,’ who have specialized skills and training. In fact, the demand for knowledge workers is already growing at an astonishing pace [...]. In a knowledge-based economy like ours, a top priority for all o f us must be to ensure that we have the skilled workforce we need to spur economic growth and productivity. The success of workers today depends on opportunities for a continuum of education and training (Chao, 2005).

5. Custodial of Creativity and Innovation: The role of the 21^st century university graduates in the knowledge economy involves activities which create value from exploiting knowledge and technology rather than physical assets and manual labour. 

The world economy is changing at an unprecedented rate such that innovation through improvement in knowledge is now identified as a critical reason why some regions of the world are able to develop a competitive advantage that supports sustainable economic growth and development. The forces of globalization, technological progress and improved knowledge are altering the way that people all over the planet make a living. Some countries, especially in the emerging world like Nigeria are using this wave of change spur by creativity and innovation to drive rapid growth in their economies.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills in Cambridge, (2008) explains how the prosperity of society emerges through the capacities and abilities of individual actors:

“High level skills - the skills associated with higher education - are good for the individuals who acquire them and good for the economy. They help individuals unlock their talent and aspire to change their life for the better. They help businesses and public services innovate and prosper.

They help towns and cities thrive by creating jobs, helping businesses become more competitive and driving economic regeneration. High level skills add value for all o f us. (p.3)

Summary

The problem is high level of unemployment, government’s first priority is sustainable growth and economic development, but growth and economic development is not enough in reducing unemployment.

To reduce high level of unemployment, such growth will have to involve increasing job creation and job creation alone is not enough either, Nigeria will need to create higher-value-added jobs and ensure that it has the human resources to fill those jobs.

In a global and dynamic world, the economies that can remain flexible, adaptive, and innovative will reap the benefits of knowledge-based economy.

References:

Utz, A., (2006). Fostering Innovation, Productivity and Technological Change: Tanzania in the

Knowledge Economy. World Bank Working Papers. Washington, DC: World Bank Institute.

Adenike Adetola Agbonlahor, (2016). Challenges of Entrepreneurial Education in Nigerian Universities: Towards a Repositioning for Impact. Journal of Educational and Social Research MCSER Publishing, Rome-Italy. Vol. 6 No.1 January 2016.

World Bank, (2005). India and the Knowledge Economy: Leveraging Strengths and

Opportunities. The World Bank, Washington, DC.

Gerbrand Tholen, (2010). Graduate Employability in the Knowledge-Based Economy. A thesis     submitted to the University o f Wales, Cardiff, in fulfilment of requirements of         candidature for the Degree of PhD.

Chao, E. (2005). Speech before the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and     Pensions of the United State Senate. [online]. Washington DC.      Available at: http://www.dol.gov/ sec/media/congress/20050414 chao            help2.htm. [Accessed: 1st April, 2016].

University of Cambridge, (2008). Annual Report 2008. [Online] Cambridge: Cambridge

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 Uzoma Aja-Okorie and Onele Adali, (2013). Achieving Youth Empowerment through       Repositioning  Entrepreneurial Education in Nigerian Universities: Problems and  Prospects. European Scientific Journal October 2013 edition vol.9.

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The World Bank, (2010). Knowledge, Productivity, and Innovation. World Bank, Washington DC.

National Bureau of Statistics, (2012). NBS, Abuja.