Nigeria’s Event Industry Faces Skills Challenge As MSS Academy Trains Young Nigerians

By Samuel Tyotsua

As Nigeria’s creative economy expands, the shortage of structured technical training for young people seeking careers in the sector is drawing renewed attention, with industry operators and educators stressing the need to connect skills development with actual workplace demands.

The issue came into focus in Lagos as more than 60 students graduated from the inaugural MSS Event Tech Academy after 10 weeks of training in technical and production disciplines used in the events industry.

The academy, organised by Mobile Screens and Sound Limited (MSS) in partnership with KolaDaisi University, trained participants in LED Screen Engineering, Sound Engineering, Camera Craft and Video Production, Light Design and Control, Event Management and Production, and Rigging and Trussing.

The training reflects a wider challenge in Nigeria’s creative economy, where skills development and the availability of industry-ready professionals remain important to the sector’s growth. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) inaugurated a Creative Media Sector Skills Council in 2025 to identify skills needs in the sector and improve training in line with industry requirements.

For the MSS programme, the training went beyond classroom instruction. The graduating students took part in the technical delivery of their own graduation ceremony, handling areas such as sound, lighting, LED screens, camera operations, and event management.

Speaking at the ceremony, Managing Director of MSS, Tunbosun Kola-Daisi, said his two decades in the industry had shown him the need for more structured professional training.

Kola-Daisi said the events industry had young people with potential but also needed better preparation and continuous training to meet changing technical demands.

He said MSS was investing in continuous training because technology was changing rapidly, including sending some personnel abroad to acquire knowledge and subsequently sharing the expertise with others.

The Managing Director said the objective of skills development should also be to make young people self-sustaining and able to find their place within areas of the industry where their abilities are required.

Five of the academy’s best graduating students are expected to receive employment opportunities with MSS, providing a direct link between the training and the workplace.

The Vice-Chancellor of KolaDaisi University, Prof. Olajumoke Morenikeji, said the connection between education and industry was important because university education should prepare young people for realities beyond the classroom.

“What I see is more than being employed. It is also about creating jobs,” Morenikeji said.

She said the university was interested in working with companies that were willing to train young Nigerians and equip them with useful skills for the future.

The Federal Government has similarly identified skills development as part of its efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s creative economy, while acknowledging challenges, including inadequate job data and the need for stronger interventions in skills development.

The MSS academy, therefore, provides one example of how industry and academia are attempting to bridge the distance between formal education, practical training and employment in a sector that increasingly depends on technical skills.