Reimagining informal apprenticeship for national productivity

    Deborah Yemi-Oladayo | Insights | Dec 04, 2025    
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The popular apprenticeship structure, popularly known as ‘Nwa Boi’ among the Igbos, has been one of Nigeria’s greatest wealth transfer and job creation systems. It is a silent economic engine, one that has powered livelihoods for generations but has never been meaningfully integrated into Nigeria’s national development strategy. This informal apprenticeship system – the mechanic teaching a young boy how to dismantle an engine block, the spare parts dealer at Ladipo market mentoring his boys on the dynamics of business ownership, and the cobbler training young boys on how to make footwear in Ariaria market, Aba – are micro-learning ecosystems that have shaped thousands of careers each year, yet they remain undervalued, unstructured, and absent from mainstream policy conversations.

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