Where are the foresters? The influx of forestry graduates to non-forestry jobs in Nigeria
Foresters play important roles in the sustainable management of forest resources in many countries. In Nigeria, hundreds of forestry students graduate from various forestry schools annually. However, the high unemployment situation in Nigeria has left millions of gradutes from higher education institutions jobless. Recent research shows that a major challenge facing forestry students and graduates in Nigeria is difficulty getting jobs and poor prospects for career achievement in the forestry (and forestry-related) sector. Our case study research is based on a survey of a cohort of 56 forestry students who graduated from the Federal University of Technology Akure – FUTA, Nigeria (a top-ranking forestry school in Nigeria), in 2016 to understand the cohort’s job experiences five years after leaving school. First, our research shows that 84% of forestry graduates from the cohort were in non-forestry-related jobs, and the remaining 16% were in forestry-related, academic jobs as lecturers, researchers, and graduate students. Second, an estimated 90% of respondents acknowledged that forestry graduates were moving to non- forestry jobs mainly because of the lack of job opportunities in the forestry profession. Other reasons included earning a living, lack of interest/passion in the forestry profession, or the respondent being compelled externally to study forestry. Our research offers insights into the post-graduation experiences and current job engagement of forestry graduates in Nigeria with suggestions on the way forward. Keywords: forestry jobs; foresters; forestry education; unemployment; Nigeria ID: 3602387
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| Format: | Article biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
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FAO ;
2022
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| Online Access: | https://openknowledge.fao.org/handle/20.500.14283/CC1472EN http://www.fao.org/3/cc1472en/cc1472en.pdf |
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