Prof, Dafe Otobo University of Lagos, a labour expert, has said strengthening labour education is important in improving output.
He disclosed this in his Anniversary Lecture titled: “Labour Education in Nigeria Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” during the 40th-anniversary Founders Day of the Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS).
The event was co-organised by Go-getters Consultants Ltd.
According to Otobo, labour education is broader than trade union education and in-house or on-the-job training.
“It is learning and making information available about and taking corrective steps on how society’s economic, political and cultural characteristics shape the form and nature of work and production processes and products, as well as the role and status of the labouring categories within the society, and possible checks and balances therein.
“It is essential to comprehensively strengthen labour education in all institutions of learning (schools, polytechnics, Institutes, colleges, universities, etc.,) in this new era
“The world of work — comprising all interactions between workers and employers, organizations, and the work environment — is marked by the constant adaptation to changes in technology, cultural, political and economic environments,” he said.
Otobo added that changes in the organisation of work could lead to a better understanding of the present problems — now on a worldwide scale — that accompany continuous technical, political, and economic changes, such as changing Social Structure, Values And Education, Information Technology, Climate Change/Global Warming, Migration, Computerisation, Artificial Intelligence, as well as Robotics.
He also said the changes in the size of the workforce, nature of supervision, job roles, tasks, core activities and career prospects, growing labour market and shrinking traditional industries as well as the expansion of the informal/service sector by the young and educated (e.g. UBER, BOLT, etc., transport sector) made labour education more pertinent.
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