INTRODUCTION

Vocational Enterprise Institutions (VEIs) and Innovation Enterprise Institutions (IEIs) are institutions recently approved by the Federal Government of Nigeria to provide a veritable alternative route to higher education. They are a product of the recent reform initiatives of the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) in the education sector of the country. They are private institutions that will offer vocational, technical, technology or professional education and training at post-basic and tertiary levels to equip secondary school leavers and working adults with vocational skills and knowledge to meet the increasing demand for technical manpower by the various sectors of the nation's economy.

 

OBJECTIVES

Due to the lack of capacity for higher education institutions to accommodate the multitude of secondary school leavers and the low participation of the private sector in skills training, the FME decided to approve the establishment of the private sector-led VEIs and IEIs. The major aim is to widen access to Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and serve the needs of the industry and self-empowerment of the nation's citizens.

TARGET GROUPS

The VEIs and IEIs are expected to be a credible alternative form of education that will cater for the interest of:

• School leavers who wish to acquire demonstrable practical skills to secure employment or generate employment
• Persons seeking for career paths that do not need university degrees
• Persons without time for full time study but want to enhance their skills
• Persons wishing to go into self-employment
• University graduates seeking employable skills and
• Adults seeking opportunities to re-skill themselves

PROGRAMMES AND QUALIFICATIONS

Vocational and Innovation Enterprise Institutions are vocational institutions envisaged to offer part and full-time education leading to the award of certificates and national diplomas. VEIs will admit candidates with a minimum of basic education certificate and cover multidisciplinary areas that will prepare learners for jobs in most industries, while the IEIs are to admit students with a minimum of 5 credits at senior secondary certificate (NECO, WAEC, etc).

It is conceived that the VEIs will run three year modular programmes, where each year of study could be terminal and shall have a cogent and flexible structure and content that would equip the trainee with a practicable working skill and the possibility to exit at that level. The qualifications obtainable at this level will be called The National Vocational Certificate (NVC) Part 1, Part 2 and Final. The IEIs, on the other hand, will run diploma programmes full time (2 years) or part-time (3-4 years). The curricula will be in modules of employable skills. The qualifications given by the IEIs will be termed The National Innovation Diploma (NID).
 

FOCUS

The Board as part of its commitments to widen access to TVET and ensure that private sector trainers and trainees are brought within the formal realm shall continue to develop further the newly instituted VEIs and IEIs. Additional curricula will be developed to provide further choice of courses and programmes for them. New institutions that have applied for recognition will also be visited for approval of the Honourable Minister of Education.

 

International and national partnerships will be explored for the development of curricula and course specifications as well as the establishment of a system of exchange of skills and knowledge.