This paper examined how a re-engineered Vocational and Technical
Education (VTE) programme can ensure youth empowerment and
sustainable development. The paper highlights the concept of sustainable
development, education and youth development, VTE as a concept of
functional education, problems of VTE in Nigeria and proffered suggestions
on how to re-engineer VTE for more effectiveness.
The youths are usually persons from between the ages of 15 and 30 years, and based on the
1991 national population census results, there are 24.3 million Nigerian youths, meaning that the
youths account for about 27.3 percent of the nation's population (NPC, 1998), The bulk of these youth
population are still in school. Since the future of any country is its youth population, it is then very
important that these young persons are equipped with the right type of education. The type of
education referred to here is the type that equips its recipients with the right kind of knowledge, skills,
attitudes etc and empowers them to not only face the future confidently, but also to contribute
meaningfully to the sustainable development of their societies. This system of education is known as
vocational and technical education.