NFC Advances Skills Standards To Formalise Creative Economy Workforce

By Ovio Peters

Nigeria is moving to formalise its creative economy workforce through nationally recognised skills standards aimed at improving certification, employability and industry competitiveness. Against this backdrop, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), Dr Ali Nuhu, has called on creative industry stakeholders to develop National Occupational Standards that will strengthen skills certification and workforce development across the sector.

Speaking at the three-day National Occupational Standards Critique and Validation Workshop for Creative Media Trades, held from July 23 to July 25, 2026, at the headquarters of the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) in Abuja, Nuhu described the initiative, organised by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) and the Creative Media Sector Skills Council, as a critical step towards integrating informal creative skills into the national labour market through the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) framework.

DECISION HIGHLIGHT

The Nigerian Film Corporation is positioning skills standardisation as the institutional foundation for transforming Nigeria’s creative industry from a talent-driven ecosystem into a recognised employment and export sector.

DECISION MEMO

The workshop signals a strategic shift from celebrating creative talent to institutionalising creative competence. By developing National Occupational Standards across creative media trades, policymakers are attempting to bridge the longstanding disconnect between informal industry experience and nationally recognised qualifications.

Nuhu said the workshop was “not only timely, but a necessary step towards shaping the present and future of Nigeria’s creative media ecosystem.”

He observed that “for too long, Nigeria’s creative media sector has been driven by both formal and informal structures,” creating persistent challenges in “identifying, harnessing, certifying and mainstreaming talents, skills and competencies acquired outside the traditional educational system into Nigeria’s employment and labour market ecosystem.”

According to Nuhu, “the workshop represents a major milestone for Nigeria’s creative media sector in terms of labour market development initiatives.”

He commended the Creative Media Sector Skills Council and the NBTE, noting that the exercise is “a prerequisite and the first step for the emplacement of a National Occupational Standards curricula to be used in all certified Technical and Vocational Educational Training centres nationwide.”

Nuhu further stated that “the NFC and the National Film Institute (NFI) will continue to support and participate in the successful delivery of the objectives of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria because it aligns Nigeria’s vibrant youths to the development and growth of the creative media sector.”

The initiative has broader economic significance. Standardised occupational qualifications could improve labour mobility, strengthen employer confidence, facilitate international recognition of Nigerian creative professionals and deepen the creative economy’s contribution to employment and export earnings.

DATA BOX

• Event: National Occupational Standards Critique and Validation Workshop
• Date: July 23 to July 25, 2026
• Venue: Nigerian Television Authority Headquarters, Abuja
• Lead institutions:
  • Nigerian Film Corporation
  • National Board for Technical Education
  • Creative Media Sector Skills Council
• Curricula under review: 40 National Occupational Standards
• Coverage includes:
  • Film production
  • Audio production
  • Content creation
  • Digital photography
  • Animation
  • Digital graphics
  • Broadcasting
  • Gaming
  • Immersive technologies
• Framework: National Skills Qualification Framework and Technical and Vocational Education and Training

WHO WINS / WHO LOSES

Winners

• Creative professionals seeking recognised qualifications
• Employers requiring certified industry competencies
• Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions
• Nigeria’s creative economy and export-oriented creative businesses

Losers

• Fragmented informal certification systems
• Employers relying on inconsistent skills assessment

POLICY SIGNALS

• Government is shifting creative economy policy towards workforce formalisation.
• Skills certification is becoming central to employment and industrial policy.
• Technical and Vocational Education and Training reforms are expanding into high-value creative industries.

INVESTOR SIGNAL

The emergence of nationally recognised occupational standards strengthens the institutional framework supporting Nigeria’s creative economy. Greater workforce certification could improve productivity, attract investment into creative education and digital content production, and enhance the sector’s competitiveness in international markets.

RISK RADAR

• Slow implementation of validated occupational standards
• Limited industry-wide adoption by employers
• Funding constraints for Technical and Vocational Education and Training centres
• Weak enforcement of certification standards across the informal creative sector