Career family
Skilled Trades & Technical Services
Installing, repairing and maintaining the things we use every day: power, vehicles, buildings, devices and machines.
- Mainly Making & Fixing
- Also Organising & Managing Detail
- Also Leading & Enterprising
What the work involves
A closer look.
Skilled trades are hands-on and practical, with real demand for reliable, well-trained people. Many tradespeople run their own business and train apprentices.
Typical roles
- Electrician
- Solar installer
- Auto mechanic
- Plumber
- Welder or fabricator
- Carpenter or furniture maker
- Phone and electronics repairer
- Refrigeration and air-conditioning technician
Entry routes in Nigeria
- Any SSCE stream; technical subjects help
- Technical colleges (NTC and NBC certificates) and vocational centres
- Apprenticeships with an experienced master
- Trade tests and industry certifications for some trades
Requirements change. Always verify with the official body, JAMB or the institution.
Skills that matter
- Using tools safely
- Diagnosing faults
- Reliability and customer trust
- Pricing jobs fairly
- Keeping up with new technology
By life stage
Where you could start.
Secondary school
Often-linked SSCE stream: Any (vocational and apprenticeship routes). Check with your school.
Undergraduate
Technical education, electrical/electronic technology, mechanical technology, building technology. Internships: workshops, maintenance teams, installers.
Fresh graduate
Apprentice, technician assistant, maintenance technician, own small workshop.
Young professional
Graduates and professionals sometimes move in through short technical courses, especially into solar and electronics.
Vocational routes, entrepreneurship, public service and further study are all valid paths. We don’t show salaries or employment rates without a dated, verified source.
Ask a practitioner
Questions to ask.
Use these in a 15–20 minute conversation with someone who works in this family.
- What does a normal week look like for you?
- What do you enjoy most about the work, and what is hardest?
- How did you get into this field? Were there other routes you could have taken?
- Which subjects, courses or qualifications really matter, and which matter less than people think?
- What skills do you use every day that school didn’t teach you?
- What do people misunderstand about your job?
- If you were starting today, what would you do first?
- Who else should I talk to?
Test it
Ways to check if it suits you
Informational conversation
Talk to one person who does the work, using the questions on this page.
Job description review
Read three real adverts for roles in this family and list the requirements that keep coming up.
Small project
Try a small piece of the work yourself, then reflect on whether you enjoyed it.
Short course
Take a free or low-cost introductory course to test your interest before committing.
Job shadow or workplace visit
Spend a few hours watching the work happen. CPI arranges visits for participants.
Mentor conversation
Discuss what you have found with a mentor or coach.
Official qualification research
Check requirements with the professional body, JAMB, the institution or the employer directly.
Related
You might also explore.
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Designing, building and maintaining the structures, machines and systems people rely on: roads, power, buildings, factories and water.
ExploreBusiness, Finance & Accounting
Keeping organisations’ money, people and operations in order: accounting, banking, finance, HR and management.
ExploreEntrepreneurship & Enterprise
Starting and growing your own venture, from a small trade to a scalable company, or building new things inside an organisation.
ExploreWant to know if this fits you?
Take the self-assessment, then use your roadmap to test this direction.