PERCEIVED CONTRIBUTIONS OF PLATFORM-BASED VOCATIONAL SKILLS TO YOUTH EMPOWERMENT IN LAGOS STATE

Abstract

Youth unemployment and underemployment pose severe socio-economic threats in Lagos State, acting as major catalyst for economic helplessness, frustration, and rising social vices such as cultism, drug abuse, cybercrime, and street violence. As formal labor opportunities remain constrained, platform-based vocational skills such as graphic design, digital illustration, videography, animation, digital marketing, and tech-enabled crafts have emerged as crucial instruments for fostering self-reliance, youth empowerment, and economic inclusion. This study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population comprised young adults engaged in digital vocational learning and micro-enterprises in Lagos State. A sample of 60 respondents was drawn using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using a 30-item structured questionnaire titled Platform-Based Vocational Skills Questionnaire (PBVSI-MUVYL), designed on a 5-point Likert scale. To ensure instrument validity, the questionnaire was validated by experts in Visual Arts Education. Collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, such as frequency counts, simple percentages, mean scores (X), and standard deviations (SD), with a benchmark mean of 3.00 for decisionmaking. The findings revealed high availability of platform-based vocational training domains (Grand Mean = 4.30, SD = 0.76). The findings also established that platform-based vocational skills effectively empowe youth (Grand Mean = 4.22, SD = 0.70). However, structural bottlenecks significantly impede training progress (Grand Mean = 4.07, SD = 0.75), with high data costs and personal online motivation difficulties emerging as primary constraints. The study concluded that platform-based vocational skill acquisition is a viable, sustainable mechanism for tackling youth unemployment and reducing street restiveness in urban Lagos. Consequently, it is recommended that the Lagos State Government partner with telecommunications providers to provide zero-rated educational data bundles as well as establishing solar-powered community digital learning hubs across Local Government Areas.