By Nuel Suji – Most Nigerian students in the field of Business and Engineering are inclined towards professional training and development, research has shown.
Similarly, across sectors, students are looking for the opportunity to be entrepreneurial and creative in the workplace, suggesting that future generations of Nigerians hold the chance of bringing about the needed leadership.
The research was conducted between November 2015 and June 2016 across the Business, Engineering/ IT, Natural Sciences, Health Medicine, Humanities, and Law sectors.
“In Nigeria the research included 6,124 respondents at 27 universities, in Ghana 2,162 respondents at 20 universities and in Kenya 5,062 respondents at 24 universities.
“Nigerian students are very clear in their future goals across all industries with professional training and development topping the list for both the Business and Engineering sectors. Similarly, across sectors, students are looking for the opportunity to be entrepreneurial and creative in the workplace.
“In this regard, the research in Nigeria highlights a number of similarities with the trends in Ghana and Kenya that also highlight training and development within creative and entrepreneurial workspaces. This sub-Saharan trend contrasts with trends in Morocco that show more of an emphasis on work-life balance and opportunities for travel.
“Within the Engineering and Technology sectors there were also a number of marked changes from the 2015 research. In 2016 the trend is actually away from looking for goals such as a work-life balance (2nd – 4th place), opportunities to be a leader, which dropped from 4th – 7th place, and to be intellectually challenged (3rd -5th place).
“Interestingly, these students’ goals are starting to mirror their Moroccan counterparts who are looking to have international career opportunities (6th – 3rd place.)
“Overall, Nigerian students are clear in the importance of money, success and innovation in their future career plans.
“The research in Africa also reveals distinctive trends compared to Universum’s research in Europe and the USA, “Young talent in Sub-Saharan Africa have very different priorities compared to young talent in for example Europe and the USA. They are less focused on achieving work life balance and more interested in starting their own business and being the drivers of the own success.
“The implications of this for businesses are massive and those that manage to foster a sense of entrepreneurship and provide dynamic and innovative opportunities for young people are sure to be the winners in the war for talent” says country manager for Universum South Africa, Jenali Skuse.
Universum’s research across Africa is highlighting a number of insights that employers looking to do business across the continent need to take into account when reaching out to talent. It is clear that although there may be similarities across regions, every country has its own unique characteristics t need to be understood.
As world-renowned experts in employer branding, Universum Global is present in more than fifty markets globally where it conducts extensive research amongst students and young professionals.
In 2015 Universum expanded this research into five African markets; Algeria, Morocco, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria. The recently released 2016 results for these regions highlights fascinating insights into the minds of young Africans
