Assessing the level of skills mismatch in selected public organizations in FCT

Abstract

The study assesses the level of skill mismatch in the selected public organizations in Abuja. Survey research design was adopted, and a structured questionnaire was used as the research instrument with a sample size of 63 respondents. The analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics which revealed that nearly all the listed set of skills displayed by employees were considered very poor or poor by the employers of the selected MDAs and that the adequacy of skills of sampled employees was significantly low with wide margin of mismatch. The study concludes that for all the set of employees’ skills except for communication skill, it was apparent that they were poorly displayed and grossly inadequate resulting to varying levels of mismatch among individual skill sets. Some recommendations were made, among which is the need for the various higher institutions of learning such as universities, polytechnics etc to synchronize their curriculum with the labour market demand so as to minimize the level of skill mismatch and this can be done through emphasizing practical work, industrial attachment for all discipline, and real life simulations more than theory in the curriculum of the higher institution where these employees are trained; and that the respective MDAs should periodically assess and identify the level of adequacy of individual skill of individual employees and organize periodic training/workshops/seminars so as to bridge the skills gap responsible for the mismatch.