Work-Based Learning and Skill Development Among Young Artisans in Kano State

This study investigated work-based learning processes and skill development outcomes among young artisans in the informal craft and trade sector in Kano State, North West Nigeria. The traditional apprenticeship system constitutes the most extensive vocational education infrastructure in Nigeria, yet its learning processes remain insufficiently analysed within adult education frameworks. The study adopted an ethnographic research design involving 25 young artisans and 10 master craftspeople from textile weaving, leatherwork, and metal fabrication trades in three Kano craft zones. Participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and skill assessment protocols formed data collection methods over a four-month fieldwork period. Findings revealed that work-based learning in the Kano apprenticeship system was characterised by graduated task complexity, observation followed by guided practice, peer learning among co-apprentices, and implicit knowledge transmission through daily work routines. Explicit reflective practices were largely absent, with learning occurring primarily through doing and watching. Artisans who engaged in self-directed supplementary learning activities outside core apprenticeship routines demonstrated faster skill acquisition trajectories. Lack of formal recognition for skills acquired through apprenticeship was identified as a significant constraint on artisans' economic mobility. Recommendations include developing a formal recognition of prior learning framework to credential informal apprenticeship-acquired skills, designing reflective practice workshops to complement informal work-based learning, and facilitating peer learning networks among artisans across trade sectors. Keywords: work-based learning, apprenticeship, skill development, young artisans, Kano State.