A Certificate May Open the Door, but a Skill Keeps You in the Room
Sometime ago, I saw a posts about Nigerians in foreign countries lamenting about how they regret not learning a skill before embarking on their journey abroad.
They realized how much they could earn if they had a skill, but if we flash back to when they were still in the country, most of them did not want to learn a skill. They prioritized education, and even after school, they still felt some vocations were too dirty for them to learn, until they travelled abroad and saw how those dirty vocations could make them rich.
Till now, many people in my country prioritize education and prefer white-collar jobs over learning a skill that can feed them until old age. Most of those who are learning vocations are the less privileged who do not have the money to sponsor themselves through school.
We also have many people who graduated with good grades but had to put their certificates aside when they could not secure jobs with them. Some eventually started learning a skill, while others ventured into businesses such as transportation.
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So, in my opinion, both skills and certificates are important. A certificate can help you get a job, but skills are needed to keep it.
People should learn a skill, and when they become good at it, they can go to school to obtain a certificate in that field so they can earn better and become more recognized.
So, both are two sides of the same coin, and they need each other. But if I am still asked to pick the most important, I will go with skills.
A certificate is a paper; a skill is who you are.
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This is one of those conversations I think we need to have more often in Nigeria. But nope, our president said we should fry akara and roast corn instead. That aside, we’ve been conditioned to see certificates as the safest route to success, while practical skills are kinda treated as a backup plan. Yet, in reality, a skill can become an income stream regardless of whether a traditional job comes through.
Sometimes, I do wish my parents made me acquire a skill before pushing me to the university. Although I agree that it doesn’t have to be certificate vs. skill as there is value in having both. Education can give you knowledge, structure and opportunities, while a practical skill gives something tangible we can actually do and monetize.
This is also one of the reasons I’ve sworn to learn a skill in the coming year. I don’t want to keep assuming that my certificate will be enough to figure everything out for me. I’m still saving for the possibility and trying to decide what skill makes the most sense, but I definitely want to have something practical in my hands.
Well said, a certificate is important as much as a skill and sometimes I wonder why people will choose certificate over skill.