UNIVERSITY INDUSTRY COLLABORATION A PANACEA TO GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA
One of the major problems facing Nigeria is graduate unemployment. Nigeria parades well over hundred universities owned by the Federal, State and private individuals, which have been churning out graduates every year without prospect for employment. One of the major factors contributing to this scenario is the mismatched between the school curricula and the needs of the industrial sector of the economy. With heavy reliance on empirical and secondary data, the study advocates for university industry collaboration as one of the measures to mitigate graduate unemployment in Nigeria. The study finds that mismatched between university curricular and industrial needs renders most Nigerian graduates unemployable. The study therefore, suggests among others the need to bring in seasoned industrialists to participate in drawing curricula and also teach some practical courses on part time basis in Nigerian Universities. Efforts in this direction will equip Nigerian graduates with skills needed in the industrial sector of the economy with implications for their employability status.