‘Rising Skills Gap Will Endanger Nigeria’s $75.6bn Telecoms Sector

Emma Okonji

Telecoms’ policy analyst, and convener of Policy Implementation Assisted Forum (PIAFo), Mr. Omobayo Azeez, has warned that the rising skills gap challenge in the Nigerian telecommunications sector will constitute a major threat to the future of the $75.6 billion telecoms industry.

He noted this while delivering a keynote presentation on the theme: “Bridging Skills Gap to Accelerate the Indigenous Telecoms Development,” at the just concluded second edition of the Nigerian Telecommunications Indigenous Content Expo (NTICE 2023) organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), in Lagos.

He said for the sector to continue to thrive, telecoms companies require professionals with skills in various areas such as cybersecurity, data analytics, wireless network engineering, software development, fibre optics engineering, IP networking skills, cloud computing, and VSAT engineering among others, which he said, were not sufficiently available at the moment.

“The current existence of the skills gaps puts a strain on telecom firms, limiting their ability to expand, innovate, improve customer services or develop new products,” Azeez said.

According to him, while the sector is growing in geometric progression, the workforce that supports its day-to-day operations is rather depleting, a development he described as inimical to growth and development.

He said: “Available data show a high global demand for tech skilled-workers particularly in the telecoms sector. This is why the situation is even scarier for a low-middle income country such as Nigeria because high-income economies that desire similar skilled labour will always have their way enticing away capable hands and talents from here.

“This is happening already. In 2022 alone, operators in the sector lamented losing over 2,000 trained telecoms personnel in Nigeria to other countries. Operators are finding the gaps difficult to fill as prospective applicants often lack the required knowledge and skill set to deliver, while trained workers are leaving,” Azeez said.

According to him, “This has hampered the rate at which operators recruit. For instance, operators across the GSM, Internet Service Providers (ISPs), Value-Added Services (VAS), Fixed Services and other sub-segments of the sector have only employed additional 679 workers in the last three years, which cannot serve licensees in the sector even at a one-to-one ratio.

“The talks around 5G, Edge infrastructure, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart city initiatives, all demand more capable hands to innovate and undertake professional tasks to achieve the future aspiration of the sector.”