Best Lucrative Skills To Learn in Nigeria
With the current economic condition, the country is passing through.
Unemployment is eating deeper each day, with tens of thousands of graduates coming out each year in search of jobs that are not even available.
The need for everyone to possess one or two skills at least arises; skills and agriculture are currently the highest employers of labor in most developing countries.
Acquiring a skill makes you a boss of yourself, rather than working for people who can only pay you peanuts regardless of how much work you have to do each day.
In Nigeria and Africa at large today, there have always been two things: “unemployment and low-pay” and the worst of all is that you might still go for months without being paid, especially for government workers.
Today, there are tons of skills you can learn to save yourself from the menace of either unemployment after college, low pay, or work frustrations. Some of these skills are vocational, while others are I.T-related.
Vocational skills are skills you learn and practice with your knowledge and physically. while that of I.T only demands computer knowledge.
Top 50 best lucrative skills to learn in Nigeria
In view of this, we gathered 50 profitable skills you can learn to earn a smart living for yourself as a Nigerian.
1. Fashion Design/Tailoring
As different kinds of fashion keep springing up each day, Fashion designing/tailoring stands as one of the most profitable skills you can learn to
earn a good living in Nigeria. An average fashion designer/tailor charges as high as N5,000 per clothing, while the PROs charge up to N100,000 per clothing.
If you learn well and sow well, customers will be the ones looking for you, meaning you earn more.
2. Web Design/Development
The world is switching very fast to an age where almost everything is done online.
As a web designer, you help different organizations, individuals, and companies create their websites, for which they pay you a huge sum of money.
You can learn web design online on different learning platforms such as udemy, Coursera, or by attending I.T training or seminars.
3. Barbing
Learning how to barb hair can really help your financial life.
The interesting part is that it’s a very soft skill that you can learn in less than a year.
Plus, you only need a clipper, comb, and brush to get started.
If you don’t have the money to rent a space, you can decide to run a home service. Don’t underestimate barbing at all.
Some barbers, when calculating how much they make in a month, earn more than some bankers.
4. Programming/Coding
Programming is what most intelligent people in the world want to learn now. It’s really the grandfather of all I.T skills.
If you can code very well, you are worth millions because it’s the most sought-after computer skill.
Programmers earn really well everywhere in the world, including in Nigeria.
5. Event Planning and Decorations
Nigeria is a place where people love to party no matter the circumstances they are facing.
People go as far as borrowing money to celebrate their birthdays, weddings, housewarmings, anniversaries, graduations, child namings, matriculations, thanksgivings, and other special occasions.
Event planners earn really high for the listed celebrations.
They organize and plan everything, including decorations, order of celebrations, and item 7, and get paid for helping celebrants do all these.
There’s no day in any village or city in Nigeria where there’s no celebration, so you should learn event planning and decorations.
6. Copywriting
For most Nigerians who are still new to the internet, this is sc*m.
If you believe this, then you still have a long way to go.
Copywriters are raking in thousands of naira monthly by just helping people market their businesses with just mind-blowing and convincing texts.
As simple as it is, lots of big brands pay millions to copywriters to help them advertise their brands with their skills.
Purchasing a copywriting course on Udemy or Coursera can get you started.
7. Mechanics And Auto Repair
While some consider this a job that involves looking dirty, Nigerian mechanics make far more money than you can imagine, despite the fact that it appears to be a dirty skill.
Repairing faults in some cars costs a lot. So it’s a win for auto mechanics.
Remember that no money is dirty when being spent.
8. Graphics Design
I believe you must have heard of this before. Graphics design is really great I.T skill, flexible and stress-free.
As a graphic designer, your work is just designing banners, ads, posters, flyers, cards, thumbnails, and images for clients with just your gadget—smartphone, phone, or laptop.
You charge people based on the designs they want and their complexity. You can charge them up to 5,000 per design.
You can learn everything about it within 12 months.
9. Baking And Confectionery
Bread, cakes, sandwiches, burgers, and cakes are being baked. Especially at weddings, birthdays, or any other special occasion, the service of a baker is needed and they charge as high as N20,000 depending on the size and quality.
10. Phone Repair
Phone repairers are really lucrative due to the fact that almost 70% of the population uses mobile or smartphones.
The great thing about that is it’s a mobile skill; you don’t need to own a shop or workshop to do that. Just you and your tools.
Phone repairs are really one of the most lucrative skills you can learn in Nigeria.
11. Welding
Welders are responsible for welding iron doors, windows, protectors, farm tools, and other items.
Hence, making welding a very lucrative vocation.
A welder can design an iron door which might cost as much as 40 to 50k depending on design quality.
Many take skills like welding as a vocation for the poor, while it’s not at all because welding has made literate and illiterate millionaires.
12. Driving
Almost every organization, business, or establishment uses a vehicle for transportation.
Apart from the being employed aspect, Commercial driving is a very good source of earning a living.
Some drivers even earn twice as much as civil servants in a month.
Everyone is always moving to and fro, so you have got no need to worry.
You can either get a vehicle by hire purchase or rent it and pay weekly or monthly to the owner if you can’t afford to purchase one.
13 Carpentry And Furniture
I’m not sure there’s any house in Nigeria that does not have any carpentry work on or in it. It is either the roofs being constructed with wood or the furniture inside the home.
In essence, carpentry should not be undermined. It’s one of the most lucrative of all manpower skills.
Furniture work, on the other hand, is almost the same as carpentry.
The only difference is that furniture makes use of designs with different materials like foams and paint to make the work look beautiful.
Products of furniture include cushions, sofas, and wardrobes.
Both can be learned together or separately.
14. Hair Dressing/Stylist
This is a skill that cannot go into extinction.
Women and girls always want to look good with their hair beautifully made.
Hairdressing is a hot skill in high demand as celebrations such as Christmas and Salah are gold mines for the skill.
The good thing is that you can be an apprentice and still earn money.
15. Photography
Nigerians are now very obsessed with taking pictures as most people take new photographs on their birthdays, weddings, graduations, and so on.
They always love to keep memories of past events alive by taking pictures. That’s why photography is recommended when we talk about high-income skills to learn in Nigeria.
One can learn this within the sphere of six months or a little less.
16. Soap Making
Many Nigerian women now produce soaps locally, either liquid or solid, which they sell in the market for a good rate.
You can use the knowledge to make detergent powder, liquid, and solid soaps. 5 to 10 days is enough to learn a skill like soap making.
17. Shoe Making And Repairs
This is yet another lucrative skill you should learn.
In recent years, Nigerian shoemakers have upgraded to making replicas or the same design as Italians.
Right now, a pair of corporate shoes costs no less than $20,000.
The good news is that people really crave a lot of good shoes, so the market is big enough to contain you.
Affiliate marketing involves selling other people’s products online or offline and getting your own commission on each sale.
Many Nigerians who work online have an idea about affiliate marketing, and you can learn from them.
Affiliate programs are also available on sites such as Jumia, Konga, Expertnaire, Udemy, Fiverr, Travelbeta, Coursera, Selar, and others.
You can sign up for them and start advertising
and selling on social media. Though it’s advisable you learn from an expert or attend seminars and workshops first.
19. Forex And Crypto Trading
This is a big boy skill in Nigeria. Because of the amount of money they make from trading foreign currencies and cryptos, forex traders are often respected by the youth.
It’s a skill that demands capital, but with the right coaching and money, you can do well.
On the other hand, crypto trading is also lucrative, though risky because of the crypto dip, but trading coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and binance is a great digital skill.
You need the help of someone to guide you so as not to make big mistakes that will cost you a great loss.
20. Electrical Installations
Everyone makes use of electricity in Nigeria, so the services of electricians are greatly in demand.
You can make big cash from helping people install and connect electricity to their houses, and construct or repair electrical damage.
You only need to go for an apprenticeship for just a period of a year to two years, and then you can become your own boss and start working.
21. Costume And Make-Up
Most females are obsessed with make-up to the extent that they pay to have their make-up done on special occasions by a make-up artist.
They book make-up artists for nothing less than 5–10 K per session, which doesn’t last more than an hour.
Plus, in the making of movies, make-up Artists and costumiers are needed. Two to four weeks should be enough to learn this.
22. Blogging
Most things we Google search about are being uploaded by bloggers.
An average blogger earns more than 100k in a month. Though it’s quite a technical I.T skill.
First, you need to learn how to design a blog or hire someone to do that for you.
Bloggers are regarded as problem solvers.
They earn money through advertising platforms such as AdSense, Ezoic, Adsterra, Propeller, etc., which display different advertisements on their blog.
You can get a free blogging course on different learning sites online.
The likes of Lindaikeji, Seun Osewa, and Tunde Ednut are among the popular bloggers in Nigeria.
23.YouTube
Online video creators make use of YouTube, which we all watch.
Those creators earn lots of money from the views each of their videos receives.
If you love creating videos and don’t know how to monetize them, Then, you should try Youtube.
The more views and subscribers you get, the more earnings for you.
The best part is that your money is paid in dollars.
Find someone who is an expert or read online about YouTube channel creation and management.
24. Videography
With most big occasions in Nigeria being filmed to keep records, Videographers are actually needed to capture an event live or from start to finish.
Videographers earn hundreds of thousands because the demand is high and the videographers are few in Nigeria.
A skilled videographer is also used in film production, wedding coverage, meetings, and so on. It’s just a soft skill for soft people who want to make good money with their soft skills.
25. Content Writing
Content writers are people who put solutions into a text. In real essence, they solve problems with written content.
From blog posts to articles, reports, news, and magazines are being written by content writers.
It’s just a creative I.T skill you can learn as a student at a university or even as a graduate. Sites like
Fiverr and Upwork are digital platforms where owners of these skills can monetize them by getting clients who need content.
26. Vulcanizing
Before now, vulcanizing was a skill for the poor and illiterate.
But now things have changed. More brands of vehicles with different kinds of tires are being manufactured every day.
Some of these vehicles are very expensive, just like their tires.
Vulcanizers now earn lots of money repairing, patching, and pumping tires.
It’s a skill that is really belittled in Nigeria simply because those doing it are mostly illiterates, but if you are educated you can learn to rebrand and modernize it because those guys earn more than many people can imagine.
27. Bag Making
Bag-making is actually a new skill in Nigeria, meaning it’s untapped.
Only a few people get into it due to the fact that most bags are imported from abroad.
But still, many are making lots of money-making bags and purses.
It’s very easy to learn, and if you’re looking for something you can learn within the space of a few months.
Go for bag-making because bags are really expensive these days, so you tend to make more money.
You can make school bags, ladies’ bags, travel bags, handbags, etc.
28. Cinematography
Cinematography is a skill for making movie videos that is almost the same as videography.
The cinematographers are the ones that capture movie scenes with their video cameras.
Since, Nigeria as a country produces over 2000 movies yearly, so cinematography as a skill is one of the best skills you can learn.
Just one movie shot will fetch you hundreds of thousands.
You can either enroll in a film academy to acquire the skill or serve as an apprentice for a short while.
29.Manicure And Pedicure
Most Nigerian ladies always want to have their nails done.
Learning how to take care of nails and other things women love to have on to look beautiful is a very cool way to earn a living.
First, the stress is small and Within 2 to 3 weeks, you can learn this and start helping people with their pedicure and manicure needs.
30. Panel Beating
Refurbishing bashed and damaged vehicles is the work of a panel beater.
Their services are highly demanded as well.
When vehicles are damaged due to accidents or age, panel beaters offer the service of refurbishing them to make them look nice and fancy again.
31. Fish Farming
Economists do say that agriculture is the biggest employer of labor in Africa.
You can literally be the employee and employ people to help you in them in the management of your fish farm.
Fish farming is just a skill and a business that is worth going into in 2022. An average Nigerian eats fish at least once a day.
Fishermen and fish farmers provide that. With just a little investment and knowledge about the business, your farm will boom in just a few months and you will make millions of naira from it.
32. Snail Farming
Though some cultures forbid the eating of snails, a larger population of Nigerians enjoy a meal cooked with snail meat.
It’s said that Nigeria records close to 1 billion naira from exporting snails to other countries. 80% of the snails are being caught in the bushes.
It means it’s still untapped because lots of people underrate snail farming simply because they have no knowledge of it.
You can learn it online from YouTube and start small.
A medium-sized snail costs at least N500. Imagine you reared one thousand of them and sold them.
That will give you half a million. And why do I consider this better than rearing other farm animals? Because the cost of rearing is very low—you are buying almost nothing but the shade.
33. Poultry Farming
This skill and business are really gold mines for hardworking and dedicated people.
Raising chicks (both local and foreign breeds) and selling them when they mature.
The advantages of being a poultry farmer are numerous; you sell your chickens, you earn; they lay eggs, you earn, and their excretion is also needed by agriculturists as manure and by manufacturers for the production of fertilizer.
Owning your poultry might cost you some thousands of naira, but the skill is just too profitable.
34.Piggery
Pig rearing, otherwise known as piggery, is the business of keeping pigs till they are ripe for either reproduction or consumption.
It’s not just something you can start without having any knowledge of it else; you will lose.
You can either learn from someone in it, from government seminars on piggery or online on YouTube.
You might have been thinking you could do it simply because of the stink, but you should know that every business has its own cons.
An adult pig is worth more than 100k. Imagine rearing 60.
That’s a whole lot you can’t afford to lose because of a mere stink. Plus, they give birth to many offspring, which eat too much but grow very fast.
35. Generator Repair
Repairing a generator set is also lucrative. Since Nigeria does not have stable electricity, almost 70% of families have a generator set, either big or small.
You really save yourself from unemployment as an undergraduate when you are still in school since it’s not that complex and the duration of an apprenticeship is short, so give it a shot.
36. Refrigerator Repairs
Another skill that’s worth learning because it’s mobile; you either own a workshop or you go about carrying it out.
Refrigerator repair services are often needed despite the scarcity, and it’s a skill that is still done by a few people, meaning lots of customers for you.
37. Plumbing
Plumbing and pipe fittings are worth learning if you don’t possess any skills yet. It is scarce yet in high demand.
Fixing water pipes, toilets, taps, kitchen sinks, etc., earn plumbers sweet cash. No one is building a house that won’t want to have a toilet or water system installed.
This makes it highly lucrative.
38. Bricklaying and Building Construction
Bricklaying and building construction is not an easy skill as it involves a lot of manpower, but the profits that come from this are great.
Some bricklayers only lay bricks and sell each at a price, while others are also involved in building construction. I study civil engineering as a professional course and I can attest to this, even though most Nigerian houses are built by skilled constructors.
The cost of building a house is high due to the cost of building materials and the amount charged by bricklayers and building constructors. 2 to 3 years of apprenticeship is okay to learn the skill.
39. Aluminum and Glass Work
Without this, a building’s construction remains incomplete.
By helping people fix aluminum doors, windows, and glass. Aluminum and glass artisans earn lots of money.
As long as your work is always fine and neat, a friend will always tell a friend that you are a good one.
As a result, your work literally speaks for you and earns you more patronage and money. This only takes less than a year to learn.
Anyone can learn, men, women, children, and even students too.
40. Drawing and Painting
I call this a gold mine because it’s a foreign skill that’s portable and can be done anywhere.
People’s desire for artworks is so strong that artists make a lot of money from painting and drawing.
A skill and take that, when well mastered, can take you places and make you a big bag.
Complex artworks are being sold for over a million naira sometimes.
Even just mastering it well will do you lots of good.
The advantage that comes with it is that anyone can learn this. Talented or not, it’s a skill you can learn to earn.
41. Electronic Repairs
TV sets, radios, sockets, stabilizers, air conditioners, fans, and other electronics always develop faults. every time, either due to power failure or age.
Electronic repairers always have jobs on their desks. You can learn electronics repair within the sphere of two years.
42. Truck Mechanic
Truck mechanic is included in this list of lucrative skills because it’s not only lucrative, it’s mobile as well.
You don’t have to sit down and wait for fort trucks with mistakes to come over to your shade.
They put you on a call and then you come.
Everyone knows the cost of repairing a faulty truck is costly, but it’s not a skill for the lazy and it requires some manpower strength. It’s mostly for guys.
43. Bead Making
Yes, bead-making. It sounds childish, right? But I’m telling you that the demand for beads is high.
Lots of cultures have beads as part of their wares. Traditional weddings, title giving, festivals, and other celebrations are hot seasons for bead makers.
Learning to create all kinds of beads for different uses is really lucrative.
You can have it as a side business after your normal 9 to 5 job or even as a permanent job.
44. Catering
Caterers are also one of the highest-earning artisans.
As soft as it is, an average caterer charges up to N50,000 to prepare food for a wedding ceremony, depending on the number of guests.
The service of a caterer is needed in different ceremonies, including naming, weddings, graduation, birthdays, royal, Christmas, and Salah festivities. Within 6 months of learning, you can start your catering career.
Also, your catering knowledge can be used to manage a good restaurant.
45. P.O.P Installation
Just like tilers, POP installers add beauty to houses.
Almost all modern houses now have POP installed.
People go as far as installing POP ceilings to add to the interior design of a building.
It’s a big skill if you possess it, plus it’s mobile and marketable anywhere.
46. Dancing
Pocco Lee, Kaffy, and other dancers are among Nigeria’s most popular dancers.
Telling your parents you want to acquire a dancing skill makes you look gullible to them.
After musicians, actors, and comedians, Dancers are one of the highest-paid in the entertainment industry.
47. Instrumentalist
Also, instrumentalists earn well as their services are needed by musicians, choreographers, e.t.c. Various instrumental skills you can learn include keyboarding, piano, violin, trumpet, and guitar.
Some other instrumental skills you can learn include Disc Jockeying, Beat Production, etc.
48. Tiling
No building is completely beautiful without the floor and bathroom tile.
Tilers make lots of buildings beautiful by installing tiles on the floors, walls, and bathrooms of buildings.
Imagine being given a contract to tile an 8-bedroom duplex, which will cost nothing less than 100 to 300K depending on the size of the building. It’s just a skill everyone can learn, even females.
Plus, the time of apprenticeship is short; within 3 months to a year, you should learn all you need to know.
49. Spray And House Painting
They offer spraying services such as painting cars, metals, doors, gates,e.tc.
It’s also a good skill you can acquire. Painters paint buildings and different houses.
Since everyone wants their houses and rooms to look beautiful. Hence, painters are highly demanded this.
50. Acting
Well, there’s no gainsaying about acting. It’s many people’s dream to be called an actor or actress.
While few believe acting is just a talent, it’s not just a talent, it’s a skill, and a great one at that. With different blockbuster movies being dished out by different actors, people’s love for movies is second to none.
Therefore, acting is a lucrative skill you should learn if you think you have what it takes.
The likes of Omotola Jolade, Genevieve Nnaji, Ramsey Noah, and Yul Edochie are well-known actors and actresses in Nigeria.
They make millions from acting. You too can make a name for yourself in the movie industry by enrolling yourself in an acting academy to learn all about acting.
Final Thoughts
Everyone should have at least 2 to 3 skills-digital or physical.
This is the key way in which unemployment can be drastically reduced.
As an artisan, you get to control everything about you and your business, unlike in an office job where you are to obey instructions.
Don’t look back on acquiring one to three of the skills listed here.
Some of those artisans earn twice as much as white-collar jobs, but due to that, most educated people take artisans as illiterates and poor people.
However, attitudes have shifted, and graduates are enrolling in skill acquisition programs even after 4–6 years of university.
