The Relationship Between Labour Market Core Skills Requirements And University Graduate Soft Skills Competence
[A CASE STUDY OF NORTH-WEST, NIGERIA]

1.    Informal and Instant Decisions and Formal Expert Survey: Management forecasts are the opinions (judgments) of supervisors, department managers, experts, or others knowledgeable about the organisation's future employment needs.
2.    Delphi Technique: The Delphi technique is a subjective method used to predict future personnel needs of an organisation by “integrating the independent opinions of experts. The technique involves a large number of experts who take turns at presenting their forecasts and assumptions. An intermediary passes each expert’s forecast and assumptions to the others, who then make revisions in their forecasts. This process continues until a final forecast emerges (Wurim, 2013).
Quantitative Approach: Quantitative approaches to forecasting involve the use of statistical or mathematical techniques; they are the approaches used by theoreticians and professional planners. Some of these approaches include:
i.    Regression Model: Fluctuations in labour levels are projected using relevant variables, such as sales.
ii.    Time-Series: Model Fluctuations in labour levels are projected by isolating trend, seasonal, cyclical, and irregular effects.
iii.    Economic Model: Fluctuations in labour levels are projected using a specified form of the production function.
iv.    Linear Programming Model: Fluctuations in labour levels are analyzed using an objective function as well as organisational and environmental constraints.
v.    Markov Model: Fluctuations in labour levels are projected using historical transition rates.
    Based on the different approaches to manpower forecast, Agboola and Adeyemi () made a projection of Academic Staff for Nigerian Universities by the Year 2020 as shown in Table 1.