Abstract:

Open unemployment among young school leavers in developing countries is no longer news.  In the absence of any form of transfer payment like unemployment benefits from the government, and in most cases, little or no familial support due to high level of poverty;  a great number of youths turn to the informal sector for employment purposes. One important function of the sector is capacity building via the apprenticeship system through which a great number of self-employed craftsmen and entrepreneurs are trained.  This paper examines the pattern and nature of human capital development -through the on-the-job apprenticeship system- in the urban informal sector of Nigeria as well as its impact on employment generation and entrepreneurship development. The study draws on data from a survey of informal sector workers in urban centres of four geopolitical zones – (South-West, South-East, South-South and North-West) of Nigeria. Univariate and multivariate analysis are carried out with a view towards establishing the relationship between the pattern and nature of capacity building and entrepreneurial development.  A cursory view of the data reveals the need for emphasis on vocational and entrepreneurship training as a veritable means for developing an employment-generating macroeconomic framework. Thus, we expect that the findings of this paper would provide some policy direction on matters of educational planning, informal sector coordination and employment creation in developing country contexts.