Industry 4.0 and Youth Empowerment: A TVET Framework for Fostering Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation in Nigeria

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_20How to use a DOI?

Keywords

TVET; Industry 4.0; Digital Skills; Youth Empowerment; Entrepreneurship

Abstract

The advent of Industry 4.0 has redefined global economic systems, demanding a workforce skilled in digital, technical, and entrepreneurial competencies. In Nigeria—where over 60% of the population is under 25—Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) remains pivotal to youth empowerment. Despite NBTE reforms promoting “skills over qualifications,” challenges persist, including weak industry linkages, outdated curricula, and inadequate funding. This study assesses the effectiveness of Nigeria’s TVET system in fostering youth empowerment, digital innovation, and entrepreneurship within the Industry 4.0 framework. A descriptive survey design was adopted, with data collected from 384 respondents comprising TVET students, instructors, and industry stakeholders. Data were analyzed using SPSS descriptive statistics, yielding a reliability coefficient of 0.827 (82.7%). The study recorded strong support for digital integration (M = 3.86) and instructor capacity building (M = 3.57), but moderate perceptions of industry collaboration (M = 2.93) and limited access to finance and mentorship (M = 3.49). Policy and institutional alignment scored lowest (M = 2.94), revealing systemic gaps. Nigeria’s TVET system shows potential but requires stronger industry ties, modernized curricula, and enhanced instructor development to meet Industry 4.0 demands. Strengthen public-private partnerships, update digital curricula, provide structured funding and mentorship programs, and ensure effective policy implementation to promote sustainable youth employability and entrepreneurship.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Henry Diko Koce
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/12/26
TI  - Industry 4.0 and Youth Empowerment: A TVET Framework for Fostering Entrepreneurship and Digital Innovation in Nigeria
BT  - Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Business and Entrepreneurship (ICSBE 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 278
EP  - 291
SN  - 2352-5428
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_20
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-930-8_20
ID  - Koce2025
ER  -