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 AABBSSTTRRAACCTT 
 This paper sets out to examine the skillsgaps between the industrial application of Information Technology and universityacademic programmes (curriculum). Itlooks at some of the causes, and considersthe probable solutions for bridging the gapbetween them and suggests the possibilitiesof exploring a new role for our universitiesand employers of labor. It also highlightsstrategies to abolish the misalignmentbetween university and industry. The mainconcept is to blend the academic rigidity with the industrial relevance.
KEYWORDS
Skills gap, Industry, I.T, Curriculum,University, Graduates, government,business.
11..00IINNTTRROODDUUCCTTIIOONN 
As the Nigerian industries are rapidlygrowing in terms of the advancement of science and technology, unprecedenteddemand for better graduates has beencreated. However, industry often criticizesthat existing university curricula fall shortto tackle the practical issues in theindustry. For instance, the industry expectsthe university to train their futureemployees with the latest technology.Academia is at the centre of developingtrends. This is because university lacks aproper academic programme that issuitable for the industries. This causes agap between universities and industry thatneeds to be bridged by the universitiesacademics and IT professionals. Theindustry is continually broadening and theknowledge domain is increasingly becomingcomplex. The importance and role of developing better curriculum in universitiesprogramme is significant in bridging thegap between the changing technology andindustry needs for employers. Universitiesshould provide a conducive learningenvironment and industry orientedcurriculum that the business communityperceived as meeting their IT requirements.Curricula are expected to be developed withthe objective of producing skilled andemployable graduates. Ching
et al 
(2000)states that employability rests in theknowledge and skills imparted upon themthrough their education. This paper therefore sets out to examine theskills gaps between the industrial applicationof Information Technology and universityacademic programmes, look at some of thecauses, and in considering the probablesolutions for bridging the gap between themand suggests the possibilities of exploring anew role for our universities and employers of labor. The two sides, one producing and theother utilizing the work force, need a commonground to operate so that such synergy willresult in adequate supply of relevantpersonnel for all the sectors of the economy.It is when such a balance is in sight that wemay begin to wrap our arms around resolvingthe issue of unemployment in the society.
2.0
 
UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC PROGRAMAND INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION OF IT
 The subject of skills development is not onlytimely but appropriate in view of the presentglobal socio-economic challenges. The issueof skills gap is particularly topical consideringthe structural, academic, vocational andplanning challenges which are peculiar to uspresently. No longer is the world debating onthe importance of education as a pre-requisite for social and economicdevelopment, and nobody now questions therelationship between high academicattainment and economic rewards thataccrue as a result of that attainment. Theformer President of the United States BillClinton once said “We are living in a world where what you earn is a function of what you can learn. (US Dept. of Educ., 1995).
Exploration of the Gap Between Computer ScienceCurriculum and Industrial I.T Skills Requirements.
Azeez Nureni Ayofe
Department of Maths & Computer Science,College of Natural and Applied Sciences,Fountain University, Osogbo,Osun State, Nigeria.E-mail address:
nurayhn@yahoo.caAzeez Raheem Ajetola
Department of Maths & Computer Science,College of Natural and Applied Sciences,Fountain University, Osogbo,Osun State, Nigeria.E-mail address:
ajeazeez@yahoo.com
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 4, No. 1 & 2, 2009
38ISSN 1947 5500
 
 If this world is to move out of the presenteconomic doldrums, then its abundanthuman resources needed to be deployedeffectively and efficiently with the skill of Information Technology based processing tomanage other natural resources, in order toattain these developmental goals.IT Skills in all and every ramificationtranslate into inventions, services,products, ideas, innovations and bestpractices that drive the wheel of progressand development. From a studied position,the development of any nation depends to avery large extent on the caliber,organization and technological skill of itshuman resources.In addition, it is widely held thatknowledge, skills, and resourcefulness of people are critical to sustaining economicand social development activities in aknowledge based society. Given the growingglobal IT networking and the dynamicinvestment climate in the world, thedemand for knowledge workers with highlevels of technical and soft skills can onlyincrease. IT knowledge and networkingskills is the arrowhead of the modern worldof work. All aspect of work is nowcomputerized. Only those who move with thetide will be successful.However, the gap that exists between what istaught at school and the skills required toperform on a job is so wide that a highpercentage of young graduates are said to beunemployable for lack of needed skills that would make them profitable for anyemployer. This state of affairs has existed inthe world especially in Africa for so long thatthere is urgent need for serious actions tostem the tide and correct the malaise that isrobbing the nation of progress in many fieldsof endeavour.
3.0 A TYPICAL SCENARIO
 The table1 below shows the statistics of unemployed graduates in Malaysia asobtained in(http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/07/70-public-university-graduates- jobless.html), as demonstrated during aseminar in Malaysia on Education inMalaysia.
Table 1
shows the statistics of unemployed graduates in Malaysia (source:http://educationmalaysia.blogspot.com/2006/07/70-public-university-graduates- jobless.html)One of the contributors, Kian Ming, said “Ican fully understand "BusinessAdministration" or other managementprogrammes as a degree course that manycandidates opt for if they are not qualifiedfor other subjects to study, and hence the highlevel of unemployability given the weaker poolof students. However, computer science has thehighest contributor to the unemployed pool?Isn't that the next wave of growth overtaking
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 4, No. 1 & 2, 2009
39ISSN 1947 5500
 
the country whereby computer sciencegraduates should be in high demand?”Another participant in the same seminar, John Lee, also said “The answer as to whythe Computer Science faculty seems to becontributing the highest number of unemployed graduates to the market placedespite a clear shortage of skilled workersin the industry is fairly obvious.A survey conducted earlier has indicatedthat as many as 30% of the unemployedlocal graduates are computer science andinformation technology degree holders. These skills are in obvious demand in thecountry - it is not a mismatch. The clear-cut issue in this case is that many of thelocal institutions of higher learning, bothpublic and private have failed to offer asufficiently rigorous education to producethe necessary quality in the workforce which the industry requires”Most importantly, as highlighted by ChrisChan, chief executive officer of The MediaShoppe in the same seminar, he said:“... some local ICT graduates lackedfundamental technical skills and only hadknowledge of basic software such asMicrosoft Office (!) The problem is largely either the poor ICT curriculum of many of our localuniversities/colleges that doesn't seemteach anything to our ICT students or thesestudents shouldn't have been taking ICT courses in the first place”
4.0 WHAT IS A SKILL GAP?
A skillgap is the shortage in performance. It is thedifference between what is required orexpected and what we actually get. Put inanother way a skill gap is the requiredperformance minus the presentperformance (Adetokunbo 2009). Hence it isalso called the
performance gap
. It couldbe in the area of any respective field of  work.
Causes of gap between the universitydegree in Computing and industrial ITskills
•
 
 The Computer Science curriculum isstatic in nature while its industrialapplication is dynamic.
•
 
University is not ready to train andretrain its staff to meet up with thedynamic nature of the course becauseof the financial implication.
•
 
Lukewarm attitude of lecturers tosurrender themselves for training and workshops that will expose them to thelatest innovations in IT.
•
 
Priority given to research works by thelecturers rather than lectures and workshops which will bring them tolimelight on the latest development inIT.
•
 
Lack of facilities to train both thelecturers and the students on the newinventions
4.1
 
UNIVERSITY ACADEMIC PROGRAMME:
 This otherwise known as ‘Curriculum’ 
 
refers tocourse offerings at an educational institution.Decisions about what a school should teach areusually made by school administrators andfaculty and governed by University councils.In relation to Information Technology, it is of the view as it being too theoretical andoutdated. The necessary technical attributesand “Know-how” expected of this program is ina depleted state and close to nothingsatisfactory to applications in the Industrialrealm.Answers are continuously left un-provided when students (graduates) are faced with thereality question of: “
WHAT CAN YOU DO?”
inthe labour market when they are out for anyinterview.
4.2 STUDENTS IN PERSPECTIVE 
It is clearly obvious that in university, studentsstudy the basics, that is, underline principles, which might not be adequate to develop aprofessional project for a good clientStudents do not know what
a use case
is; theyalso do not know how to prepare a professionalSRS. They equally do not know about the WBS.So how can they learn all these to preparethemselves joining a good satisfying job and work confidently? They should not think that they know in andout of software development the moment theyget a degree certificate from the university. They must accept the fact that may be theyknow 10% or they just heard about all these jargons during their student life. They shouldalso educate their parents not to pressurizethem just after their graduation rather to co-operate with them to learn and get ready for aright job.
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 4, No. 1 & 2, 2009
40ISSN 1947 5500
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