Skills Mismatch in Nigeria's Labour Market: Bridging the Divide: A Case Study of Rivers State

In the past few decades, skills disparity among graduates and employers of labour have widened, negatively affecting labour productivity in Nigeria. This research investigated how skills required and skills possessed affect employment rate in Rivers state, Nigeria. Employability rate was the dependent variable while skills required and skills possessed were the dependent variables. The analyses included Pearson correlation tests and descriptive statistics. The result showed that there is a significant relationship between the skills required and the employment rate in Rivers state. Further, there is a significant relationship between the skills possessed and the employment rate in the state. However, there is a weak and negative relationship between employability and skills possessed. The study concluded that there are skills mismatch between skills possessed by graduates and their employability. The study recommended strengthening the connection between education and skills of students as well as adequate collaboration between institutions and private employers in the state.