Bridging the industry skills gap in anambra State, Nigeria through Effective use of Digital Technology

Many Industries in South East, Nigeria face labor shortages due to lack of competent hands. This paper explores how digital technology could bridge the skills gap for economic growth in South East Nigeria. 20 randomly selected industries were used for the pilot survey to ascertain the existence of skills gap. Oral interviews of the Human resources personnel to ascertain the academic qualifications of hired staff and industries supervisors to ascertain their experiences with the new employees. Altogether, 10 Human Resource Consultants and 10 technical supervisors were interviewed orally and 100 Questionnaires were distributed to new employees of industries to ascertain their level of knowledge and usage of digital tools while in school and their responses were analyzed. The result showed that digital tools existed in the institutions (Mean = 5.00, p < 0.05), but their actual use was below expected levels (Mean = 2.95, p < 0.05). The employees’ responses confirmed digital tools were available showing that institutions provided the necessary infrastructure, but lack of industry academia collaboration was a problem. Employees awareness of digital tools was neutral (Mean = 2.95, p = 0.610), implying gaps in exposure. The results highlight a skills gap in the schools system. While lectures periods appear to be regular (Mean = 4.08, p < 0.001; Mean = 4.53, p < 0.001), employees disagree that digital tools were used in their lectures delivery (Mean = 2.66, p < 0.001. Despite having digital tools, the low usage in lectures and gap in collaboration with the industry (Mean = 3.90, p < 0.05) indicate that having digital tools alone does not close the skills gaps. The employers preferred new employees to be properly trained in schools rather than training them on the job.