This work examines the need for government involvement in preparing for future workforces with more emphasis on building Human Capital in Nigeria.

1. THE CHANGING NATURE OF
WORK AND NEED FOR
GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT
IN PREPARING FOR FUTURE
WORKFORCES

2. With the advent of advanced
technologies, the nature of work
is changing and disrupting
established industries.

3. In some sectors, humans are being
displaced while in other sectors,
more jobs are gained and new roles
created.
Humans will loose their jobs to
robots when they fail to reskill or
acquire skills to keep them relevant
in the future.
3

4. For any emerging economy like Nigeria to develop
fully and to provide opportunities for its people, it
must fully embrace new technologies and methods
of work.
4

5. 1. Investing in Physical
Capital: Machines,
infrastructure, transportation.
2. Investing in Human capital:
Education, health and skills.
3. Investing in Technology,
new ideas & better
organization of our
economies.
However, this work is examining
Human Capital and how it can be
built or invested in, because it is the
most neglected aspect of growth in
Nigeria. Putting into consideration,
the changing nature of work.
THERE ARE
BASICALLY 3
INGREDIENTS TO
FOSTER GROWTH IN
ANY ECONOMY

6. Human Capital consists of the
knowledge, skills and health that
people accumulate over their lives,
enabling them to realize their
potential as productive members of
the society.
Failing to invest in human capital
can dramatically weaken a
country’s competitiveness.
WHAT IS HUMAN CAPITAL?

7. COMPONENTS OF HUMAN CAPITAL
EDUCATION
The quality of
education a person
receives
determines to a
great extent, their
productivity.
HEALTH
People are more
productive when
they are healthier.
Program providing
malaria testing and
treatment increased
workers’ earnings
by 10 percent in
just a few weeks
SKILLS/TRAINING
.
Developing sociobehavioral
skills such as an aptitude for
teamwork, empathy, conflict
resolution, and relationship
management enlarges a
person’s human capital.
7

8. HumanCapital is the Engine Of
Innovation. While innovation is the
engine of long term growth.
Failing to invest in human capital can
dramatically weaken a country’s
competitiveness.
8

9. The value of human Capital can be calculated in different ways.
• How much people earn after staying in school longer. Studies have shown that an
additional year of school increases a person’s wage on average of 10 percent.
• The quality of education matters. In United states for example, replacing a low-quality
teacher in an elementary classroom with an average quality one has been proved to
raise the combined lifetime income of that classroom’s students by $250,000
• Health of a person also matters. Healthier people tend to be more productive.
The different dimensions of human capital complement one another starting at an early
age. Some of the benefits of improved Human Capital accrue beyond the generation in
which these investments are made.
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10. WHY INVEST IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION?
The
architecture of
the brain forms
from the
prenatal period
to age 5.
during this
period, the
brain’s ability
to learn is at
the highest
level.
Early
childhood
investments
efficiently
produce
skills that
are relevant
to a child’s
future.
Learning is
cumulative.
Skills
acquired at
an early
stage
facilitate
skills
formation
in later
stages.
Ensuring access to a
quality education closes
early gaps in cognitive
and sociobehavioral
skills.
By the age of 3, children
from low-income families
have heard 30 million
fewer words than their
more affluent peers.
As children turn into
teenagers, interventions
to close these gaps
become more expensive.
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11. 11
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

12. WHY INVEST IN HEALTH?
❖ Improved trust in the Health care system.
❖ Healthier children are more likely to go to school and
stay longer there.
❖ Boosts a country’s GPD
❖ Reduction in stunting rates.
❖ Improved maternal health.
❖ Healthier and more productive workforce
❖ Low mortality rate
12

13. 13
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

14. SOCIETAL BENEFITS OF INCREASING HUMAN CAPITAL
❖Lower crime rates.
❖Lower incarceration rates.
❖Higher labor returns.
❖Positive economic growth.
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15. REASONSWHY INVESTING IN PROGRAMSTHAT DEVELOP
HUMAN CAPITAL MAY BE DIFFICULTTO IMPLEMENT
➢ Services must be delivered in a coordinated way over a short
period in a person’s life cycle.
➢ Investments may not produce immediate societal returns and
may take years.
➢ Multiple government departments must be involved in their
delivery.
➢ It is not cost effective to implement.

16. 16
WHY GOVERNMENT SHOULD GET INVOLVED
Individuals &
Families often
cannot afford the
costs of acquiring
Human Capital.
Individual’s decisions may be
shaped by lack of information or
restricted because of prevalent
social norms, even when cost of
acquiring Human Capital is
affordable.
Individuals also
do not consider
the wider social
benefits for
others.
Even when education is free,
the cost of transportation and
school supplies, together with
the earnings lost while a child
is in school, make it
prohibitively expensive.
Educational reforms
that ensure access to
quality education which
closes early gaps in
cognitive and
sociobehavioral skills.

17. WHAT SHOULD GOVERNMENT
DO?
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18. SUGGESTED
REFORMS1
❖Substantial amount of government
budgetary allocation directed towards
health and education.
❖Deworming programs- reduces
absence from school.
❖Free Malaria prevention and treatment
programs.
❖Educating mothers about prenatal care.
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19. SUGGESTED
REFOMS2
❖Increasing expenditure on research and
development.
❖Linking adult education with employment
opportunities
❖Reforming school syllabus to incorporate
transferable skills and ensure quality of learning.
❖Empower more women and giving equal
opportunities to all gender.
❖Establishment of special agencies to improve
skills & capabilities of Human Capital.
❖Meeting WHO’s specified benchmark on 5%
investment in health and 25% in education.
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20. SUGGESTED
REFOMS3
❖Enabling environment to encourage private
sector investments in Education and Health.
❖Proper machinery to punish corrupt officials
in these sectors.
❖Collaborating with the private sectors and
other countries to provide jobs for persons
with certain skills acquired through
internship programs.
❖Investing in sanitation- a clean environment
breeds healthier humans.
❖Housing programs.
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21. Governments seeking to invest wisely in human
capital, there is no better possibility than investing in
the first thousand days of a child’s life. Without such
interventions early in life, it is more likely that a
spiral of increasing inequality will ensue: subsequent
public investments in education and health are more
likely to benefit people who start out better off.
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22. THANKYOU
CHIOMA LINDA EKENE-OKWUNMA
+2347081502333, +2347065912967
lindaekeneokwunma@yahoo.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chioma-linda-ekene-okwunma-ba2263b7