Workplace Skills in Technical Education as a Catalyst for Producing Employable Graduates in the 21st Century

The 21 st century workplace demands a set of workplace skills for employability which the employers complain as lacking in most Nigerian graduates. It is no longer news that there exist a discrepancy between the expectations of employers of labour and those of most Nigerian graduates regarding the skills required for employment. The need therefore arises for workplace skills to be integrated into technical education programme. It is against this background, that this paper highlighted and discussed the concept of Technical education in Nigeria, concept of workplace skills, its importance and forms of workplace skills, the need for workplace skills in technical education programme, the need for change of teaching methods in technical education, factors influencing development of workplace skills, and approaches for implementing workplace skills in technical education programmes. This paper concludes that possessing workplace skills by graduates in Technical Education programmes will be a ticket for employment in the 21 st century workplace. This paper suggests among others that educational institutions offering technical education programmes and stakeholders should include workplace skills and attributes required in the 21 st century workplace in technical education curriculum; and collaborate strongly with employers/organizations and industries to design technical education curriculum looking at the needs of the 21 st century world of work.