Abstract:

Generally, the Nigeria labour market is oversaturated with unqualified graduates. Many are ready and willing to secure job opportunities but cannot, owing to a lack of employability skills. It is disheartening that responses of employers of labour on the capabilities and performance of some graduates showed that essential skills such as analytical thinking, effective communication, self-management, critical thinking, and specialized management that could pave the way for getting employment are lacking in some of the graduates passing out of higher institutions in Nigeria. Stakeholders are obsessed that Nigeria’s unemployment rate will continue to increase disproportionately, and this poses a bad signal unless holistic measures are taken to put a stop to it. Policymakers are faced with upgrading teaching and learning strategies that will increase the employability skills of graduates as demanded by 21st century globally. In recent times, technological advancements and information-driven decision-making have significantly reshaped the modern world, making a substantial contribution to the advancement of higher education on a global scale. This article took cognisance of exploring Artificial Intelligence- driven tools to enhance graduates’ employability in Nigerian higher institutions. This study is hinged on Human Capital Theory. This paper concludes that exploring AI-driven tools such as IBM Watson, ChatGPT, MATLAB Notion, Trello, Todoist, GitHub, Copilot and Leetcode among others would assist in enhancing graduates' employability skills as demanded by contemporary employers. Recommendations made include that higher institutions in Nigeria should integrate AI-powered tools into their academic curricula, emphasizing communication, analytical thinking, critical thinking, problem-solving, and self-management abilities as to enhance graduates’ employability skills. Also, higher institutions should continuously assess the effectiveness of AI-based tools in developing employability skills and adjust based on feedback from students, employers, and other relevant stakeholders.