The future of work is rapidly changing and all stakeholders need to be prepared in order to maximize the benefits as well as mitigate the risk resulting from technological advancement.

1. Preparing for the Changing Nature of Work in Nigeria
The nature of work, induced by technological progress is changing rapidly across the world.
Technology is changing the skills being rewarded in the labor market as well as disrupting
production processes by challenging the traditional boundaries of firms, expanding global value
chains and changing the geography of jobs.
These changes show up not only through new jobs replacing old jobs, but also through the
changing skill profile of existing jobs. In order to adapt and remain competitive, governments
will need to adequately prepare their workforce for the shifts underway in the new global
environment.
With a population of approximately 200 million people, Nigeria has the largest population in
Africa and the seventh largest in the world.1
Children under 15 years of age make up approximately 41 percent of the population, hence the
burden on health and education has become overwhelming.
The Challenge
Even though primary education is officially free and compulsory, about 10.5 million of
the Country’s children aged 5-14 years are not in school. Only 61 percent of 6-11 year olds
regularly attend primary school and 35.6 percent of children aged 36-59 months receive early
childhood education. 2
The health system is markedly weak and this is particularly evident in the country’s poor
maternal and child health indices. Nigeria has a very high maternal mortality ratio (800 per
100,000 live births), 61 percent antenatal care coverage and extremely high under-5 mortality
rate of 100.2 per 1000 live births.

2. Social protection in Nigeria is also relatively weak, with less than 5 percent of the
population covered by health insurance. This is due to its relatively large informal sector (over
70 percent).
It is evident that the country is presently ill-prepared for the changing nature of work. Despite the
existing challenges, there is a window of opportunity to positively transform the future of its
workforce so that well-being is bolstered and inequalities are reduced. To achieve this, all
stakeholders, especially policy makers need to be aware of the shifts underway, formulate a
vision of the desired outcome and plan, so that the opportunities due to the changing nature of
work are utilized and the problems that emerge are addressed.
The Solution
In order for the Nigerian government to effectively prepare for the changing nature of work, it
will need to:
 Invest heavily in human capital by formulating policies that enhance the availability and
quality of delivery of services in the education and health sector.
 Implement effective social protection systems comprising of social assistance to a large
share of the population, complemented with social insurance that does not fully depend
on formal wage employment.
 Address informality by formulating policies and regulations that facilitate the transition
from the informal to the formal sector. Proposed measures here include reducing business
registration cost and leveraging on technology to facilitate taxation.

3. References
1. Central Intelligence Agency (2019). The World Fact Book: Nigeria.
Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/ni.html
2. United Nations Children's Fund (2019). Key demographic indicators: Nigeria
Available from: https://data.unicef.org/country/nga/