Skill acquisition programme as panacea for poverty alleviation in contemporary society

Abstract

With a population of 198 million people which comprises about 70 percent youths, who are unemployed or underemployed, Nigeria is  considered the country with the most extreme poor people in the world living below poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) a year.  Evidences in Nigeria have shown that the number of those in poverty has continued to increase. This situation thus poses a major  challenge for national growth and development in Nigeria. This paper examines what poverty entails, the problems associated with  poverty in Nigeria as well as the role of skill acquisition programme as panacea for poverty alleviation in contemporary society. It  considers skill acquisition programme as prerequisite elements for poverty reduction presently, as well as measures for preventing future  generation becoming poor. Based on the stands of this paper, it was recommended among others that the government of Nigeria  should establish skill acquisition centers where the citizens can be trained with basic skills to make them self-reliant, self- sufficient and functional in the society.