Beyond Certificates: Mudiame University VC Outlines Roadmap to Producing Employable Graduates

IRRUA, Edo State — As concerns continue to grow over the employability of Nigerian graduates in an increasingly competitive global economy, the Vice Chancellor of Mudiame University, Irrua, Professor Emmanuel Aluyor, has said that producing job-ready graduates requires more than awarding university degrees, insisting that meaningful reforms must connect classroom learning with the realities of the workplace.

 

Speaking during an interview on NTA International’s special programme, “Beyond Certificate: Nigeria’s Quest for Employable Graduates,” aired as part of the network’s 2 p.m. News on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, Professor Aluyor examined the challenges confronting Nigeria’s higher education system and outlined practical measures that could strengthen graduate employability.

 

 

Interviewed by Justin Bem Unyi, the Mudiame University Vice Chancellor argued that while universities have continued to provide students with strong academic foundations, graduate employability depends on a broader ecosystem that includes responsive curricula, vibrant industries, effective internship opportunities, competent teachers and sustained government investment in education.

Rather than placing the responsibility solely on universities, he said employers, policymakers and the private sector must play active roles in preparing young Nigerians for the demands of today’s labour market.

Curriculum Reform Should Be Driven by Industry Needs

Responding to growing calls for curriculum reform in Nigerian universities, Professor Aluyor said the ongoing reforms championed by the National Universities Commission (NUC) represent a positive step towards making higher education more relevant to national development.

He noted that encouraging universities to identify their areas of strength and incorporate them into their academic programmes would enable institutions to contribute more effectively to specialised manpower development.

“The reforms that are on now are in the correct direction,” he said.

According to him, universities should continue to develop programmes that reflect their comparative advantages while responding to emerging national priorities.

However, he cautioned that curriculum reform would achieve only limited success if industries remain passive observers.

Professor Aluyor argued that employers should be directly involved in designing university curricula because they are better positioned to identify the skills, technologies and competencies graduates require in the workplace.

“The institutions should find areas of strength and put them inside their curriculum so that they train their students in a particular direction,” he explained.

“But in the absence of the employers or the absence of the industry that should drive those reforms, it becomes a major concern.”

He maintained that stronger engagement between academia and industry would enable universities to produce graduates whose training reflects actual workplace realities instead of relying solely on academic assumptions.

Why Nigerian Universities Produce Broad-Based Graduates

Addressing criticisms that many graduates are not immediately prepared for industry, Professor Aluyor said universities often operate within constraints created by the country’s economic realities.

Using Chemical Engineering as an example, he explained that the discipline consists of several specialised branches, including refinery technology, reaction engineering, biochemical engineering and chemical analysis.

In an ideal environment, universities could tailor students’ training to meet the needs of specific industries.

Nigeria, however, presents a different reality.

According to him, universities cannot predict where individual graduates will eventually secure employment, particularly when many specialised industries remain underdeveloped or are entirely absent.

“As a university, you don’t know which industry a student is going to find employment in tomorrow,” he observed.

The result, he explained, is that universities deliberately expose students to multiple aspects of their disciplines instead of limiting them to one area of specialisation.

That approach, he argued, enables graduates to remain flexible and adapt to different sectors of the economy.

Professor Aluyor rejected suggestions that such broad-based training makes graduates unemployable.

Instead, he said Nigerian universities have consistently produced graduates with strong intellectual capacity and the ability to acquire new skills quickly once employed.

He acknowledged that employers sometimes expect graduates to possess industry-specific competencies immediately after recruitment.

However, he argued that the additional orientation required is often minimal because universities have already equipped students with the analytical thinking, technical knowledge and problem-solving abilities needed to succeed.

“The amount of time or energy that needs to be spent by the industry to get them to be compliant in that specific industry is not much because the students have actually been stretched and they are very knowledgeable,” he said.

Graduate Employability Requires More Than University Education

Throughout the discussion, Professor Aluyor maintained that graduate employability should not be viewed solely as a university responsibility.

According to him, education can only achieve its intended objectives when it is supported by a thriving economy capable of absorbing skilled graduates.

He argued that one of the biggest obstacles confronting Nigerian graduates is the shortage of industries where they can apply the knowledge acquired during their university education.

Without sufficient industrial growth, he said, universities will continue to face difficulties producing graduates with highly specialised workplace experience.

Professor Aluyor therefore called for greater investment in industrial development alongside educational reforms.

He noted that expanding Nigeria’s manufacturing, engineering and production sectors would not only create employment opportunities for graduates but would also encourage closer collaboration between industries and universities.

Such partnerships, he added, would help shape future curricula while providing students with practical exposure to modern workplace practices.

For him, discussions about graduate employability must move beyond the classroom to include broader national development strategies capable of creating opportunities for the growing number of graduates entering the labour market each year.

As the conversation progressed, Professor Aluyor pointed to Mudiame University as an example of how universities can respond proactively to changing workforce demands through curriculum innovation and specialised academic programmes—an approach that has already positioned the institution at the forefront of engineering education in Nigeria.

 

 

Mudiame University Pioneers Nigeria’s First Ceramic Engineering Programme

Highlighting Mudiame University’s response to the evolving needs of industry, Professor Aluyor revealed that the National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the institution to offer Ceramic Engineering, making it the first university in Nigeria to establish the programme.

He described the approval as a practical example of how universities can respond to emerging industrial demands by developing specialised programmes that prepare students for clearly defined sectors of the economy.

According to the Vice Chancellor, the traditional approach to engineering education has largely focused on producing graduates with broad knowledge across several disciplines. While this model has helped graduates adapt to different career paths, he believes there is also room for universities to introduce programmes that equip students with deeper expertise in specific industries.

Using Materials Engineering as an illustration, Professor Aluyor explained that students are typically exposed to different classes of materials during their training.

Ceramic Engineering, however, narrows that focus.

Rather than providing general knowledge across multiple material categories, the programme is designed to produce graduates with specialised skills tailored to the ceramics industry, positioning them to contribute more effectively to manufacturing, construction, research and industrial production.

“The NUC has given Mudiame University approval to run Ceramic Engineering,” he disclosed, describing the programme as a milestone not only for the institution but also for engineering education in Nigeria.

The approval, he said, demonstrates how universities can align academic offerings with the specific manpower needs of industries while supporting national economic development.

University Seeks Approval for Welding Engineering

Professor Aluyor also disclosed that Mudiame University Irrua has applied to introduce Welding Engineering, another specialised engineering programme aimed at meeting industry demands.

According to him, welding is traditionally taught as part of Mechanical Engineering, where students receive introductory practical exposure during their undergraduate training.

A dedicated Welding Engineering programme, however, would produce professionals with advanced technical expertise focused entirely on welding technologies and industrial applications.

He explained that such specialised programmes would enable graduates to develop competencies that respond directly to the needs of employers operating in highly technical sectors.

At the same time, Professor Aluyor acknowledged that specialised education presents its own challenges.

While a Mechanical Engineering graduate possesses knowledge across several engineering fields, a graduate trained exclusively in Welding Engineering develops deeper expertise within a specific discipline.

Both approaches, he noted, have value depending on the structure and maturity of a country’s industrial economy.

Industrial Growth Must Match Educational Reforms

Despite advocating specialised academic programmes, Professor Aluyor maintained that curriculum reform alone cannot solve graduate unemployment.

He argued that educational reforms must be accompanied by deliberate efforts to expand Nigeria’s industrial capacity.

According to him, many of the industries expected to employ highly skilled graduates either remain underdeveloped or do not yet exist at the scale required to absorb the country’s growing workforce.

He warned against attributing graduate unemployment solely to universities.

Instead, he urged policymakers to focus on creating an enabling environment that encourages industrial investment, manufacturing and innovation.

“When the industries are not really there, which is a fault of government and a fault of society, we need to put more money into developing industries that will employ the populace—not just saying Nigerian graduates are unemployable,” he said.

Professor Aluyor argued that stronger industries would naturally create employment opportunities while giving universities clearer direction in designing programmes that address real economic needs.

SIWES and Internship Programmes Need Stronger Industry Participation

The Vice Chancellor also examined the effectiveness of the Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES), industrial attachments and internship programmes.

He described the initiatives as commendable policies designed to expose students to practical workplace experience before graduation.

However, he questioned whether they are fully achieving their intended objectives.

According to him, one of the biggest obstacles remains the shortage of industries capable of providing meaningful placements for students.

He pointed to recent reforms introduced by the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), which propose a mandatory one-year industrial internship for engineering graduates before they proceed for the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Professor Aluyor welcomed the initiative, describing it as a step towards strengthening professional engineering practice.

Drawing a comparison with the medical profession, he explained that newly qualified doctors undergo a compulsory one-year housemanship in accredited hospitals before they receive full professional licensing.

That model, he said, has significantly improved practical competence among medical practitioners and could offer valuable lessons for engineering education.

Nevertheless, he questioned the availability of industries capable of accommodating thousands of engineering graduates expected to undertake similar internships.

“The first thing that should have been done is to find those industries,” he remarked.

He observed that while many students participate in SIWES and receive government stipends, not all are posted to organisations where they can acquire practical experience related to their fields of study.

As a result, some internship placements fall short of providing the hands-on training they were originally designed to deliver.

Professor Aluyor argued that industrial attachment should not become a routine academic requirement but should serve as a genuine bridge between university education and professional practice.

To strengthen the system, he urged government to create policies that encourage industries to accept more interns.

He suggested that companies could be required to reserve a certain percentage of their workforce for interns and trainees, while government simultaneously creates an environment that enables industries to expand.

Such measures, he said, would strengthen university-industry collaboration, improve practical training and enhance graduate employability.

For Professor Aluyor, meaningful internship reforms will remain difficult to achieve until educational policies are matched by sustained investment in industrial growth and private sector development.

 

 

Strong Foundations Begin Before University

As the interview drew to a close, Professor Aluyor shifted the conversation beyond higher education, arguing that graduate employability is shaped long before students gain admission into universities.

According to him, universities can only build on the academic foundation laid at the primary and secondary school levels, making basic education an essential part of the conversation on graduate quality.

“Universities are fed by what comes out from the primary and secondary schools,” he said, stressing that weaknesses at those levels inevitably affect learning outcomes in higher institutions.

He noted that while universities are often criticised for the quality of graduates they produce, the entire education system must be viewed as a continuum, with every stage contributing to the development of future professionals.

For Nigeria to produce graduates who can compete globally, he said, policymakers must pay closer attention to strengthening foundational education through improved teaching standards, better learning environments and stronger accountability across the sector.

Social Media Is Changing the Learning Environment

Professor Aluyor also highlighted the growing influence of social media on today’s students, particularly members of Generation Z.

While acknowledging that digital technology has created new opportunities for learning and communication, he warned that excessive use of social media has become a major distraction for many young people.

He described social media addiction as one of the emerging challenges confronting educators, noting that students are increasingly exposed to distractions that compete with academic activities.

“There is a good side, and there is also a bad side,” he observed, adding that schools, parents and society must work together to help students develop healthier learning habits and use technology more responsibly.

Teacher Welfare Deserves Greater Attention

A significant part of Professor Aluyor’s recommendations centred on the welfare of teachers, whom he described as the backbone of every successful education system.

According to him, teachers who are adequately motivated are more likely to maintain high academic standards and ensure that students earn promotion based on merit rather than convenience.

He argued that students who fail to meet academic requirements should not automatically progress to the next level, as doing so ultimately weakens the quality of education and places additional pressure on universities.

“When teachers are well taken care of and they do their work, a student who does not pass his examinations cannot move to the next level,” he said.

Such accountability, he noted, helps students learn from their shortcomings while preserving the integrity of the education system.

Professor Aluyor maintained that improving teachers’ salaries, working conditions and professional support would contribute significantly to raising educational standards across the country.

Making Teaching an Attractive Profession Again

Beyond teacher welfare, the Mudiame University Vice Chancellor expressed concern over the declining interest in Education as a field of study.

He observed that fewer young Nigerians now choose teaching as a first-choice profession, with many ending up in education programmes only after failing to gain admission into their preferred courses.

In other cases, graduates from unrelated disciplines eventually enter the classroom simply because they are unable to secure employment elsewhere.

Professor Aluyor warned that such a trend poses long-term risks for the country’s education system.

According to him, nations that aspire to sustainable development must deliberately invest in attracting talented individuals into the teaching profession.

He argued that if government improves remuneration, career progression and the public perception of teaching, more qualified young people would be encouraged to study education and build careers in the sector.

He also acknowledged recent policy conversations led by the Federal Ministry of Education aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s education system, expressing hope that they would translate into sustained reforms capable of strengthening learning outcomes at all levels.

Producing Employable Graduates Is a Shared Responsibility

Throughout the interview, Professor Aluyor returned to one central message: graduate employability cannot be achieved through university reforms alone.

Rather, it requires coordinated action by government, educational institutions, industry, employers, teachers, parents and students.

Universities, he said, must continue to review their curricula and respond to changing workforce needs. Industries should actively participate in curriculum development and provide meaningful internship opportunities, while government must create policies that stimulate industrial growth and improve the overall learning environment.

Students also have a role to play by embracing discipline, developing relevant skills and remaining committed to lifelong learning in a rapidly changing world.

As Nigeria continues to search for practical solutions to graduate unemployment, Professor Aluyor believes that stronger collaboration between academia and industry, increased investment in education and deliberate support for industrial development will determine how successfully the country prepares its young people for the future.

His message echoed the central theme of NTA International’s special programme, “Beyond Certificate: Nigeria’s Quest for Employable Graduates” that the true value of education lies not merely in obtaining academic qualifications, but in applying knowledge, solving problems and contributing meaningfully to society.

For Professor Aluyor, producing employable graduates is not simply about earning certificates. It is about building an education system that nurtures innovation, rewards excellence, responds to industry needs and equips young Nigerians with the skills required to drive national development in the decades ahead.