Vocational Education and Digital Literacy: Panacea for Sustainable National Development.

Abstract

The Nigerian economy is saddled with myriad challenges namely graduate unemployment, crimes, youth restiveness, multidimensional poverty, and other social vices that have inhibited sustainable national development. Thus, vocational education is adjudged as the education that inculcates specific trade, career, or occupation to the learners to enhance the employability of individuals and contribute to the development of society. Vocational education and digital literacy are catalysts for youth employment and help to increase their productivity and boost the manpower needs of society. The study, therefore, discusses vocational education and digital literacy as a panacea for sustainable national development. The paper explains the nexus between vocational education and digital literacy for sustainable national development. Digital literacy is fundamental to any human development and a prerequisite to any kind of learning. The paper discusses the challenges inhibiting vocational education for achieving sustainable development as multidimensional poverty, illiteracy, and inadequate vocational and technical colleges among others. As a way forward, the paper suggests a legal framework for adequate finance of the education system with government emphasis on vocational education with a great incentive to the learners to encourage the learning of technical and vocational education in schools.