Nigeria’s creative industry is struggling to find skilled mid-tier technical talent, including video editors, sound engineers, and technicians. The State of Nigeria’s Creative Economy 2026, produced in partnership with Frontyard Group, asked Nigerian creative experts to rate the availability and accessibility of mid-level professionals, and the mean score of 2.84 out of 5 for accessibility is a cause for concern.
42% of respondents rated mid-tier talent as difficult or very difficult to find, while only 11.9% said such talent was readily available. The report further clarifies the nature of the problem: “The skills exist in Nigeria, but there is no organised marketplace, training pipeline, or professional certification system to surface and connect them.”
It recommends a National Creative Talent Registry of verified technical practitioners, anchored to a skills-training programme targeting operational roles. This provides a structural fix for a sector where the talent is present but invisible to those who need to hire it.
The full report is available for download at nec.ng
