It is common to hear experts say that the small and medium enterprises can play a critical role in driving the industrial transformation of Nigeria just as it has done in other developed countries.
In addition, they stress the importance of skill acquisition when it comes to establishing businesses and growing them.
In the country, the small businesses are categorised as micro-cottage and small scale enterprises by virtue of their asset base and the number of employees they have. Continue..
Experts say with proper management, they are expected to grow to medium businesses and further into large enterprises with operating assets in excess of N200m and over 300 working staff.
However, it has been discovered that millions of people are focusing on acquiring the skills necessary to establish a business on a daily basis only to find themselves at a loss when it comes to effectively utilising the said skills.
According to experts, finding an effective and unique way of utilising technical skill for the delivery of the products and services helps a business to stand out. This gives it a good chance of outperforming its competitors.
On the importance of technical skills, the Chief Executive Officer, Angela Itambo Company, Mrs. Angela Ihunweze, says business is actually the provision of goods and services in exchange for money, and what entrepreneurs do is to translate technical skills into business.
People only pay for what they know will give them value.
According to her, for entrepreneurs to attract customers, they need to have the right technical skills regardless of whether they are into manufacturing or another form of business.
She says they need to have technical skills so that whatever they are rendering will be of top quality because the business environment has gone global.
Sharpen the skills
Ihunweze says the advent of the Internet has made the world global, which is why entrepreneurs must harness their skills.
She says, “You may have a talent, but you need to fine-tune it to meet international standards, so that when you are offering it to the target market, you are not rejected.”
In the business world, stiff competition exists from within and outside the country. It is one thing for an entrepreneur to desire to go into business and it is another thing to harness the skill in another industry, she says.
For example, she says if someone has a flair for colour and wishes to venture into interior decoration, the person can start by offering services to individuals but it should not be limited to that only. The entrepreneur can go ahead to look for organisational support.
Explore government initiatives
To bridge the skills gap, the Federal Government has established several skills acquisition centres in the country geared towards empowering Nigerians with entrepreneurial skills.
Government agencies like National Directorate of Employment, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria, YouWin programme and Subsidy Re-Investment Programme and skills acquisition centres in the private sector do their bit in this regard.
The Managing Consultant, HR & Allied Services, Mrs. Nwobi Obiageli, says the SURE-P is an avenue for fresh graduate with little or no experience to acquire at least one year experience.
According to her, the employer applies for graduates and government officials come to inspect the organisation and if they are satisfied, the company becomes certified.
She says the essence is that with NYSC experience and the SURE-P, the graduate can get two years of work experience and the skills acquired will be leveraged for other job opportunities, adding that the scheme exposes candidates to the technicalities of their profession.
Learn the business aspect
Ihunweze says some people are very good in the technical aspect but they don’t have the basic business acumen that will make them take the skills to the next level.
She says, “To offer your goods and services to customers, you must understand marketing, selling principles, motivate those who are working for you whether they are part-time employees, full-time or family members.”
In addition, they must know what management entails. It is also important that they must learn how to handle their finances. That is why financial management training comes in.
This is to ensure that at the end of the day, whatever they realise can be set aside for the rainy days and ploughed back into the business. Entrepreneurs should not stop at perfecting their skills only, they must make conscientious effort to know the business side of their trade. In the past, people think since they have the skills, then they can start using the skills to make money, but you find out that they are failing, she says.
Be creative with technical skills
According to experts, every creative profession has its own required technical skills. Even as a writer, there are techniques that must be mastered.
They say without the skills to build something the market will appreciate, an entrepreneur will never get to the point of doing real business. But when business owners are creative and possess the appropriate technical skills, they make innovations that will make them stand out
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