The Nation Newspaper

Category: Jobs

  • More jobs as pelting takes packaging to new height

    More jobs as pelting takes packaging to new height

    Many companies are breaking away from the traditional world of packaging products. They have embraced a concept known as pelting, which experts say, is a veritable means of creating jobs, AKINOLA AJIBADE writes.

     

    It is no longer fashionable to package products the way companies used to do. Many firms had broken away from tradition to adopt the modern means of packaging known as pelting. Pelting? Yes, it is the process of converting skin, fur and other related raw materials into useful packaging items like sachets, aluminum foils, tetra paks, among others.

    The concept has redefined the manner in which Fast Moving Consumable Goods (FCMG) are packaged.

    Pelting enable companies to produce goods in convenient, light, flexible and disposable packs. In the United States (US) and Europe, firms are offering some of their products in sachets, aluminum foils and other forms of packages.

    They may have adopted this approach because it is cost effective to produce such packs, compared to bottles, among other traditional means of packaging.

    Nigeria has joined the train. Many companies are redesigning the packs in which they offer their products.

    Among them are Friesland Campina, Promasidor Nigeria, Nestle Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria, Glaxo Smith Beecham, Nigerian Breweries, Unilever Nigeria, Chivita Nigeria Limited, Dangote, Fumman Nigeria Limited, Nigerian Bottling Company, and pharmaceutical firms.

    According to experts, pelting has widened job prospects for graphic artists, printers, suppliers, quality control and laboratory officers, drivers, technicians and factory workers. They said a paradigm shift is occurring in the packaging industry, adding that people that are technologically driven would get jobs.

    A Quality Control Officer at Alufoils Nigeria Limited, Mr Michael John, said pelting is the in-thing globally, adding that the concept has the potential to create jobs. Alufiols produces packages for companies. John said conglomerates are sparring no efforts in offering their products in sachets and tetra paks, adding that the development is creating jobs for people who have expertise in those areas.

    He said packaging firms are adding tetra paks and sachets to their lines of production to foster growth. This, he said, is creating jobs for some people. He said more people would get jobs because companies are looking for a cost effective and flexible ways of offering their products to consumers. This, he added, is evident by their decision to import or source materials locally to produce such packs.

    He said: “Three different job opportunities are opening up in the nation’s packaging industry. First are the manufacturing companies that are adopting pelting as the new packaging concepts, and further employ people who can fit into the system. Secondly, are the packaging firms that are buying new machines to produce sachets, among other packs. Thirdly, are people who supply materials to packaging outfits. This shows that there are lots of job prospects in the packaging industry. Besides, new packaging firms are springing up in the country.

    “A packaging firm employs an average of 500 people depending on its size, adding that many of such companies would be established to meet the needs, as they arise. We have fewer number of packaging companies in the country. With time, hundreds of such companies would be established, once the economy improves. Though it is difficult to mention the number of people that would be employed in the packaging industry, thousands would get jobs because the demand for packaging items, such as sachets, aluminum foils and tetra paks is huge.”

    He said the nation’s aluminum industry has cut its production due to certain problems, arguing that the development has affected companies that produce crown corks, and cans for breweries and soft drinks companies.

    “The losses in one sector are gains in another. What is happening in the aluminum industry is a plus for the packaging companies, that now increase their production. This has brought a corresponding increase in the number of people needed to produce packs for manufacturers, “he added.

    He said pelting has opened up opportunities for unemployed, advising them to use it well.

    The former secretary, Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers, Mr Aderemi Adegboyega, said there are different layers of jobs in the manufacturing and allied fields. He said there is no area of the sector that does not have its own job potential. He advised the government to help in fostering economic growth. He said every aspect of production can be improved by employing more hands. He said companies’ decision to develop new packages has not only boosted their operations, it has provided opportunities for people to get jobs.

    According to him, many people would be employed as companies continue to fashion out new methods of packaging their products. He said at the heart of packaging is creative, adding that people that are highly creative would get jobs. He said as companies produce sachets and tetra paks for their products, more people are coming into employment nets.

    A former production manager, Vono Nigeria Plc, Mr Segun Babayanju, said technology has simplified the processes of producing packages for consumable goods. Babayeju said ‘pelting’ has helped in creating millions of jobs in Europe, arguing that it would take some time before Nigeria optimises the opportunities in it.

    “Considering the size of the economy, a company that adopts ‘pelting’ as a concept should be able to create seasonal and non-seasonal jobs for people. Seasonal jobs have to do with employment. For instance, let’s say we have 6,000 companies producing consumable goods in the country, each of them is expected to employ more workers to make the idea works. I know the companies are more than that. Even at that, over 100,000 jobs would be created in the future if the companies are serious enough, “ he said. He added that conglomerates like Nestle Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria know what it takes to offer their products in sachets, adding that they employ competent people to handle such issues.

    Babayanju said government’s roles are critical to the success of the real sector, advising it to provide an environment that is suitable for economic growth.

     

  • 10 things that can go wrong with your job search (III)

    Looking for job is not fun. Not at all. It can be lonely,frustrating and discouraging. And it can be tough on your ego. But then, it is something nearly everybody past the age of consent will have to go through; at least once in a life – time, most likely five times. And like most things, there is a right way of going about finding a good job … well not exactly – if what you are expecting is a fool-proof mathematical formula!

    Really, more accurate thing to say is that these is a way of looking for work that definitely increase your chances of finding a good job, and there is also a way that not only reduces these chances, but also makes your job search miserable and discouraging to the bargain.

    True, it is possible to get a good job today even when you doing everything ‘the wrong way’. But the point is this: The more you know about what works and what does not in job search, the better the chances that you will be one of those to get the dream jobs, which was the purpose of this series. Let us proceed to examine the last three factors that they injure your chances of getting a good job in the shortest possible time.

    • Poor conduct and presentation. “Qualifications are important,” said one respondent in a survey, “but it is the whole person that I am interested in. How much does that person come across? How enthusiastic is this person. How positive is this individual? That is so important.” But how do you communicate this in the course of job interview? It is not only about what you will say, but also about how you say it, including non-verbal expression. Findings upon findings indicated that within the first few minutes of any personal meeting with somebody who has the power to hire you or screen you out, the decision has pretty much been made.

    And to your personality/traits. For example, are you stable? Don’t answer yes or no. Employer has their way of discovering people with extreme behaviour of any type: inability to stay focused on an issue, disorganisation beyond the normal range, personal drive for success and achievement, honesty and integrity, people and interpersonal skills, dependability, loyalty, sense of responsibility etc. Good candidates who cannot effectively communicate their ‘goodness’ have lost out in the race for good jobs notwithstanding their impressive credentials.

    • Poor interview skills as competence as often said in this column. There are basically five questions you • Why are you here?

    • What can you do for us?

    • What kind of a person are you?

    • What distinguish you from the other if people who have the same ability as you have? And finally:

    • Can we afford you?

    So, if a job seeker does not have answers to these questions before any interview, then he/she hasn’t started to look for work.

    When an interviewer looks at your resume and says: “You’ve been out of work for quite some time, haven’t you?” Or when you resume reveals a record of perhaps six jobs in eight years or when you are considered too young, too old, too short for heavy etc. Do you have defence for these questions and other uncomfortable questions that may come up?

    • Ineffective job hunt strategy. If you are not going to anywhere in particular, any road will lead you there. For us, the fundamental of job hunt strategy is to determine your job target/objectives i.e, which job would you want to do. Where, in terms of which sector or industry or company or geographic locale. In short, you need to construct a thoughtful, practical and achievable job target/objective statement. A job that’s “interesting”, “challenging” that offers “opportunity” for “personal growth” or “personal expression” look good and adorable as job objectives. But they are inadequate unless tied to some fairly concrete goals: How much? Where (industry, location, level, etc. And it is such beautiful prose of no value, or sometimes bombastic phrases that recruitment personnel see most of the time. Most of them consider them empty and irritating

    If we assume that you have your job objectives /target, the question then, how do you reach this objective? How do you get a shot at your dream job without which you stand no chance of getting it at all?.

    For most job hunters, opportunity rarely knocks, not even once. Job seekers who want to succeed will have to do the knocking, the digging, the searching. It must be done actively or better still, pro-actively. You have to develop your own leads, and figure out the test way to follow them up. Most job hunters rely on the conventional route. Unfortunately, the conventional route is in job hunting is crowded. The odds are long, and the going is slow.

    One of the worst mistakes you can make in a job search is to stop moving forward: to sit back and wait for jobs or job leads to locate them, for employers, for recruitment agencies to call, for job advertisements that appeal to you to appear in the newspapers. Most job seekers spend 90 per cent of their time working hard to fail by doing just that – waiting!

    Babies are born everyday. But that is not to say that the process of conception to delivery is a sure, certain and riskless endeavour. Many things can, and often go wrong, ending the story in an entirely different, sometimes tragic direction.

    Many things can be wrong with your job search, which may be responsible for your prolonged stay in the unemployment queue. These last three articles were not meant to weigh you down; but to give you a framework to execute your job search campaign. It can also give you a rear-mirror view for the purposes of correcting your ‘unforced errors’. So, it is useful in evaluating your efforts and strategies employed so far in the quest for that your dream job. And then seek to change things that need be done differently.

    People get jobs everyday. Yours is at hand.

    A personal NOTE to you: The job market in Nigeria is competitive. Passing aptitude tests is not enough. Give yourself a bigger and unfair advantage. Visit www.jobsearchhow.com.ng/jobhuntingmanual for more information.

  • Ikazoboh becomes Canada-based IISD director

    Ikazoboh becomes Canada-based IISD director

    The former Interim Administrator of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr Emmanuel Ikazoboh, has been appointed a member of the Board of Directors of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

    The institute is a public policy research think tank that contributes to sustainable development by advancing policy recommendations on international trade and investment, economic policy, climate change and energy, natural and social capital.

    Ikazoboh is a former Managing Partner/Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte West & Central Africa. He and Papa Kwesi Nduom, the Convention People’s Party’s flag bearer for the 2008 elections in Ghana, are the only two Africans on the board of IISD that has 25 members.

    Ikazoboh was welcomed to IISD meeting in Ottawa, Canada last month.

    In the appointment letter, IISD said of Ikhazoboh: “Given your experience and areas of action, as well as your deep understanding of the region’s priorities, your name would be an outstanding addition to our Board.”

    Ikazoboh, who is the Executive Chairman of Hedonmark Management Services Limited, was the interim administrator of the NSE between August 2010 and April last year.

    He studied Finance and Accounting at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos. He holds an MBA in Financial Management and Marketing of the Manchester University Business School.

    He is a Fellow of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants and of the Nigeria Institute of Taxation.

    He has over 25 years experience in the management of high profile advisory assignments for Federal Government institutions, state governments and private sector clients, in Nigeria.

    He has attended leadership and senior management courses with Deloitte and was one of the helmsmen seconded to Kellogg Senior Management School at the Northwestern University Chicago.

     

  • Exploring aluminum sector for 80,000 jobs

    Exploring aluminum sector for 80,000 jobs

    The aluminum industry is in dire straits. It has lost a huge market share to Chinese products. It is also faced with dwindling resources. But market watchers believe that all hope is not lost for the sector, which they say, can create 80,000 jobs, if the macro-economic environment is right, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

    With a high unemployment rate, the government has a major challenge in its hand. How can it tame this unemployment monster in order to grow the economy?

    Statistician-General of the Federation Dr Temi Kale said about 20.3 million Nigerians are unemployed. The figure, he said, represents 30 per cent of the working population, adding that the figure is likely to increase in the next few years. He said unemployment has untold effects on the economy, calling for more proactive measures on the issue.

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) is also concerned about the huge number of unemployed graduates in the country. It said the country would experience job crisis, if steps were not taken to reverse the trend.

    The United Nations, in its 2012 Economic Index for developing countries, said Nigeria has one of the fastest growing unemployment rates in Africa. The body said the country, in spite of its huge mineral resources, has refused to grow its economy to an enviable height. It said Nigeria has a lower per capita income because its people live on less than $2 per day.

    To tackle the problem, experts advise the government to revive the ailing sectors of the economy. They said the aluminum industry is under threat of extinction, and must be revamped. They said Nigeria has huge iron ore reserves, arguing that it stands a better chance of producing aluminum products optimally. According to them, the industry can easily generate between 70,000 to 80,000 jobs, once there is an enabling environment.

    Speaking on the issue, the General Manager, Human Resources, Tower Aluminum Rolling Mills, Mr Olawale Fatolu, said the industry would easily create 50,000 jobs or more in the first two years of stable power supply in Nigeria.

    Fatolu said aluminum companies would create jobs, irrespective of their product lines. He said the industry is losing jobs, instead of employing more hands to meet its needs. He said there is a huge job prospects in the sector, advising the government to make the environment conducive for the operators.

    Government’s reduction of tariffs on importation of semi-finished and finished aluminum products from 20 per cent to five per cent has affected local manufacturers. He noted that local firms were forced to cut down operations and workforce. Fatolu said the industry boasts of untapped job opportunities.

    He said: “I conducted a research on the aluminum sector recently. The research shows that the industry boasts of 4,000 jobs. Fifty per cent of these jobs have been lost in the past few years. The reason is because many companies have downsized, while others have closed down and instead resort to importation of finished products. From the research, it was discovered that the industry needs at least 50,000 jobs now to survive. More jobs are expected to be created because different lines of products can be produced by the aluminum companies. It is either the government wakes up to its responsibility by providing adequate infrastructure or the industry is forced into extinction.”

    He said the industry provides jobs for skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled workers because of its nature. Semi-skilled workers are drawn from technical colleges, adding that they still need to be trained.

    These workers, he said, are technicians employed to work in aluminum rolling mills, extrusions among other areas. Aluminum extrusion is where domestic items, such as cooking pots, and plates are produced.

    “The unskilled workers are gardeners, cleaners and office attendants. The skilled personnel are mechanical and electrical engineers. Others are quality control officers, and accountants. Those employed in electrical department produce coils and circles used in producing pots,” he added.

    The Chairman, Steel and Engineering Workers’Union of Nigeria,Comrade Uthman Momoh, said the major problem facing the industry is government’s policies. Momoh said each aluminum company can produce thousands of jobs, if adequate facilities are provided. He said many engineering graduates would get jobs, provided the government provide facilities to make the industry work.

    Said he: “Every year, aluminum companies employ fresh engineering graduates, and train them for between six months to one year to fit into the system. With the industry facing critical problems, it is hard for such graduates to get jobs. If government can provide necessary incentives for the industry, it would be easier for graduates to get jobs.”

    He said technicians are badly needed in aluminum companies, urging the government to provide infrastructure to reduce unemployment in the sector.

    A member of Business Club, Ikeja (BCI), Lagos, Mr Thompson Adebowale, attributed inability of companies to produce optimally and further create jobs to poor power supply.

    Adebowale said companies, such as Cadbury Nigeria Plc use alternative power throughout the year, due to the nature of its products. He said chocolate material coagulates once there is a power failure. He said the development has prevented the companies from using national grid.

    Adebowale, who is a former Managing Director, Berger Paints Plc, said manufacturing companies not only using chemicals a lot, but also record losses when there is interrupted power supply.

    He said steel and allied companies consume more power, and require stable energy supply to function.

    “The only way by which government can galvanise the potentials of the economy is to generate employment opportunities. There is a wide infrastructural gap in the country. Of note is power. Many companies cannot produce optimally due to power problem. Steel industry has collapsed because of inability of companies to generate enough power for operations. I think there are huge employment prospects in companies that use steel by-products,” he added.

    According to him, the potential in the aluminum industry are huge and must be harnessed for economic growth. He advised the government to provide a flexible tax regime, improve power supply, curb the excesses of manufacturers of sub-standards products to help grow the economy.

    “Once good regulatory framework is in place, it would not be hard seeing aluminum companies competing favourably with their counterparts aboard. When this happens, thousands of jobs would be created and the economy would be better. We can create millions of jobs for Nigerians, if we can get it right in the country,” he added.

     

     

  • 10 things that can go wrong with your job search

    10 things that can go wrong with your job search

    I am sure you had asked: “Why am I still unemployed in spite of my serious efforts and very strong desire to get the job my dream job?” This is even very pertinent at the beginning of a new year. In the next three weeks or so, we will go further to help you get this your out-of the-world dream-job you want so badly. That was the promise we made earlier. We will take you through the dash-board of job hunting and see the value that not right/correct/within range.

    Many expect a simple, short and precise answer to the question above. Unfortunately there is nothing like that. The reason for this is that the employment process is complex, and usually in stages. And progress often depends on success at the previous stages.

    The other reason is that the recruitment process is imprecise, varying from company to company, and from one individual responsible for recruitment to another. The least you can do is to position yourself for better chance by acquiring the relevant job hunting skills. For you, it may just be that you are not getting one particular stage or skill right; for others, it may be two or three or more! So, what can be wrong?

    • Poor understanding of self

     

    I hope this do not surprise you-most of us do not know ourselves enough to make informed decision about our job/career direction. I was talking to an applicant sometimes ago.

    He majored in one of the Modern European languages, worked in one of the nation’s security services for four years, and has been ‘helping’ his uncle for the past three years. Now what does he want from me? He wants me to advise him on what work he should be looking for. I asked him what skills he thinks he has for a possible clue on career direction.

    He could not say precisely. This is often the case when an applicant says he/she is ready to do ‘any job that is available’. Really your job and career goal depends on the skills you have, personal preferences/aptitude, and life and career, goals. Skills are the foundation of job search. Employers want to know what it is you can do for them.

    What are skills you may want to ask? A simple but appropriate definition is that a skill is anything you can do now. Everyone has skills, hundreds of skills, many of which employers are looking for. Yet most people can only identify a few, and are not able to describe then to the employer. Experts agree that skill identification is essential to a successful job hunt.

    Now do you have personal goals in life? Where do you want to be in five, 10, 20, 30, 40 years with a vision, most young people today are just drifting in the sea of life?

    For a job search to be purposeful and focused, applicants need to have a job objective- please not the meaningless verbosity you see in most Résumé/CVs. What do you enjoy doing? What are your personal qualities and traits? Does your identified attitude, style and temperament fit your career direction?

    • Poor understanding of hiring process

    The second thing that may be the cause of your prolonged unemployment is your poor understanding of the employers hiring process and attitude. In most situations, employment/hiring has been turned to a two- lane expressway – where there is little or no contact between on coming and on going vehicles. For example, declaring a vacancy via newspaper advert is the last option for most employers.

    Unfortunately, a significant number of applicants depend on want-add alone for their job lead. However, over 80 per cent of positions are not advertised before they are filled. When was the last time you saw job advertisement from Guaranty Trust Bank, NNPC, CBN, Shell, Dangote Group, etc.

    When you desire to work for any organisation what do you do? You approach the personnel department for information and possible assistance. Right? Wrong. The major role of personnel department in the recruitment process is to screen you out!

    • Poor management of change/joblessness

    Whether you are unemployed, under employed, employed by looking for a better job, or entering the work for the very first time, or entering after a long absence, you are facing change. And change affects our emotions – relief, anticipation, or renewal, or you may fell anger, sadness, fear, depression or confusion. These feelings are natural.

    The key to successful management of change (and attendant transition) is attitude. Williams James, the father of modern psychology, said: “We can alter our live by altering our attitudes.” If we learn to manage our attitudes, we won’t feel paralysed, and benefits will follow. Related to this your attitude to job search. Are you hopeful or pessimistic? Do you feel challenged or defeated?

    The next important consideration is how much of you time, energy and money are you willing invest in yourself, or better still in your future? I have seen a lot of applicants who feel that they should not be expected to pay for seminars/services that will enhance their chance for good employment in the shortest possible time (never mind that most of them possess state-of-the-art GSM handsets and make at N50 or more worth of call or take at least a bottle of Coke everyday).

    If you are looking for a job that will pay you N800,000 p.a., how much should you invest to make it happen this year, and not next year? If your current pay is N900,000 p.a., how much should you invest to get a N2.9 million job instead of a N1.7m p.a. job?

    Form the foregoing, it is obvious that job hunting is complex, and requires some specific skills, knowledge and attitude. So we won’t be able to cover everything today. We will continue next week. Good luck in 2013.

     

    PS

    From me to you: You really want a good job. I know. But do you know how to get one? I am not sure. Get yourself a complete job-hunting toolkit- visit www.jobsearchhow.com.ng/jobhuntingmanual for additional information.

  • Succour in health, safety management

    Succour in health, safety management

    Health Safety and Environment appears abstract on the surface but it has potential of providing thousands of jobs, writes AKINOLA AJIBADE.

     

    For job seekers, it is time to look inward and tap into opportunities around them as white collar jobs have become difficult to come by.

    The situation is getting trickier as companies are either closing down or relocating to neighbouring countries where they hope to get comparative advantage.

    The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), in a report, said the prevailing economic condition is taking its toll on the sector as millions of people have lost their jobs. More people, it said, would join the labour market as the country continues to grapple with epileptic power supply, among other problems. It added that capacity utilisation has dropped because companies operate with a few hands.

    Tower Aluminum Nigeria Plc is facing that kind of crisis. The company, in a statement, said it is facing extinction because of shortage of materials. The company said its over 1,500 direct workers would be affected by the development.

    With no jobs anywhere, the unemployed are faced with the reality of creating jobs for themselves.

    An area with job prospect is Health Safety and Environment (HSE). It has to do with the safety and welfare of workers. It lays emphasis on the health and ecological protection of workers and ensures that companies achieve their objectives of posting good returns on investment. It presupposes that companies operate in a friendly environment where physical and natural disasters are averted to some extent.

    Introduced in the oil and gas industry decades ago to reduce the effects of effluents or oil discharges, HSE has taken a multi-disciplinary dimension. Companies have realised the need to employ HSE experts for growth.

    In the past, oil and gas and maritime firms mandated their workers to get a certificate on HSE, in addition to their academic qualifications to fit into the system. They later realised that they needed skilled personnel to handle such issues. This development has opened opportunities for trainers and consultants to earn a living.

    President, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr Babatunde Ogun, said there are untapped opportunities in HSE.

    Ogun said the prospect of getting jobs as health and safety management experts was high, advising the unemployed to try the area.

    The area, he said, has opened job windows for people, since Nigeria is one of the largest producers of oil in the world.

    He said HSE has the potential to create thousands of jobs, adding that people can work on their own or with the oil companies.

    Ogun said: “There are lot health, safety and environmental issues in the (Onshore and Offshore) segment of the oil industry. There are issues relating to the physical condition of oil workers, safety of the oil sites, effects of oil leakages, gas flaring, among others. These must be handled by experts. Because the oil industry is broad, different safety and health related issues do comes up daily. People working in the area of health, safety and environmental management have a wider scope of activities. They work in line with the situations on ground. They carry out maintenance jobs, ensure safety of equipment, workers and oil sites.”

    Multinational oil companies, he said, have not been able to employ enough people to render HSE services, adding that more workers are needed by the companies.

    He said HSE workers are needed in the banking industry, too.

    “Every sector of the economy requires the services of health safety and environmental personnel. Unfortunately, such workers are not enough in Nigeria. When there are oil leakages in the industry, multinationals cover them up to escape punishments. Such things cannot happen, if there are enough local safety and environmental experts on ground. The awareness is growing. With time, more people would go into safety and health area because of its immense opportunities,” he opined.

    Ogun said the government must compel foreign oil majors to comply with safety and environmental guidelines, arguing that the development would provide job opportunities for people.

    An expert, and a consultant on HSE, Mr Suleiman Ikhanaede, said HSE is a promising area for graduates willing to go into it.

    Ikhanaede said people must be certified before they can work in those areas. He said the training has exposed him to the rudiments of environmental and health management, arguing that people would earn a living once they can apply the right skills.

    He said companies are looking for those, who can train their staff on health, safety and environmental issues, adding that trainers earn good income.

    Companies, he said, are yet to give the area the desired attention, stressing that the future is bright for people that specialise in health and environmental areas.

    A geo-physicist, Mr Oyetunji Balogun, said people make a lot of money through consultancy. Balogun said HSE management is broad, arguing that people can consult for companies.

    “As many people that know their onions can go into consultancy. Thousands of companies are looking for means of mitigating natural and human disasters. Such companies are ready to hire anybody who understands the terrain well,” he said.

    The former President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Alhaji Bashir Borodo, said the country lacks adequate manpower in health safety and environmental management.

    Borodo said companies spend fortunes on physical and material assets, adding that the safety of the assets must be guaranteed before meaningful growth can be recorded. He said people must be employed for the safety of the workers and the environment in which companies operate.

    “There is a dearth of workers in that segment. We need specialists in the area of health safety and environmental management to promote economic growth. That area is for educated and intelligent people. We have a pool of unemployed graduates who can easily fit into it.

    Safety and environmental issues are all encompassing. They cut across different sectors of the economy. This implies that various sectors need such workers to survive.

    He advised Nigerians to start their own businesses, adding that it will have a multiplier effect on the economy. He said this can be achieved when people originate their ideas, and execute them well.

     

  • Wanted: Plantain processors

    Wanted: Plantain processors

    Are you looking for a job? Thousands of jobs are coming in plantain processing. AKINOLA AJIBADE writes.

    LOOKING for jobs? Why don’t you try plantain processing?

    A report entitled: An economic assessment of plantain production in Rivers State, has noted that plantain processing has helped in creating jobs for entrepreneurs, marketers, and farmers, among others.

    The report described plantain processing as a significant economic activity for large and small-scale farmers.

    Plantain processing, it said, has the capacity to create jobs in many areas, if well-managed. It said the country has enough land for planting plantain, advising the unemployed to leverage on this.

    Total production of plantain globally is estimated at over 76 million metric tonnes. Of this, an estimated 12 million tonnes are produced in Africa, with Nigeria as major producer, according to the report.

    About 70 million people in the sub-region, it said, get more than one quarter of their food requirements from plantain, adding that the market is huge for individuals and companies.

    According to experts, plantain processing has the capacity to create over 150,000 jobs in two years. They said people can work as drivers, marketers or machine operators in plantain processing companies. About 200 medium-sized companies can be established in a state with a minimum of 10 employees, the experts added.

    The Managing Director, Best Foods Limited, Mr Emmanuel Ijewere, said plantain processing offers immense job opportunities for people. The firm is into livestock farming. He said many people eat plantain in one form or the other, adding that there is huge market for the product in Nigeria.

    Ijewere said the demand for plantain outstrips its availability, adding that more people must plant plantain to increase the supply.

    He said: “From all indications, people who are planting plantain are not enough. This means that more people must plant plantain either for home consumption or commercial purposes. Through this, the growing demand for plantain would be met in the country. This means job opportunities for the country. Besides, we do not have enough people in plantain processing.

    “Of note is the fact that plantain flour is gaining acceptability in the country. Many eat it as a substitute for amala. Medically, plantain flour is good for diabetic patients. Doctors are advising diabetic patients to eat plantain flour because of its nutritional value. You would notice that plantain market is becoming bigger by the day. This shows that as many people that go into plantain production would make money.”

    He said plantain processing has huge potential, advising people to think of what they can do with plantains for a living. He said plantain can be processed into consumables, offering different sources of making money. The market, he added is huge, noting that more jobs are coming for individuals and companies who go into plantain processing.

    Ijewere said more people would get jobs if plantain is grown quarterly in industrial manners.

    Also, a former banker, Mr Dickson Ayobami, said plantain can be processed into plantain chips to create jobs. He said unripe plantain is spiced and deep-fried to produce crispy chips, which can be packaged and sold as junks at schools and to travellers by vendors. He said fairly ripe plantain can be processed the same way, stressing that it can last for days without addictives if well-processed.

    Ayobami, now into plantain farming, said his plantation in Osun State has created jobs for many people. He said the plantation has helped in employing labourers, farmers, harvesters, drivers, among others. He also said he employed people to market plantain chips in Osun, Oyo, and Ondo states, adding that many people eat plantain chips.

    He said branding is crucial to the growth of the business, urging graduates who intend to go into the trade to brand their products well.

    He said: “A lot of plantain produced is wasted, especially in the southern parts of the country. In some cases, the product is sold at a cheaper price. This is the time for the unemployed to look inward and create jobs for themselves. If the country has 100,000 people producing plantain chips, they are not enough. The educated ones have an advantage over the uneducated. It is compulsory that they should market plantain chips themselves. They can market, and pay them commission.”

    He said plantain flour production has a higher jobs prospect, adding that the plantain processing business involves procurement of matured plantain, peeling, chipping, drying, milling and packaging. He said people are required to work in these areas, adding that the process of producing plantain flour is mechanical, and that the food is recommended for diabetic patients.

    “When many companies go into production of yam flour to meet the needs of diabetic patients across the country, more people would be employed as marketers, and get paid. Those who are educated would benefit because they would be able to convince patients to buy the plantain flour. This will have a multiplier effect on the economy”, he added.

    Ayobami said people who are going into plantain flour production must get a small factory, procure machines, install them, recruit people, and get approval from agencies regulating food production and packaging in the country.

    He said buyers, mostly diabetic patients, would buy the product.

    The Managing Director, Zion Hospital, Ikotun, Lagos state, Dr. John Adanike, said diabetic patients are advised to eat plantain flour to improve their health conditions.

    Adanike said such patients need the food for their health, adding that hospitals offer producers of plantain flours an opportunity to market their product. He said people give higher consideration to anything that has to do with health.

  • Seven drivers of effective job search (I)

    THIS year, I am almost sure you strongly desire to get your dream job. As far as this is concerned, we are one. We will like to see you succeed.

    Last week’s presentation and today’s are geared towards ensuring you achieve your objective. In fact, we will give you set of “Quick Guide” to get you off the unemployment line in these first set of articles in the year. Let us continue on the drivers of effective and fast job-hunting in Nigeria’s competitive job market. We have considered five drivers.

     

    Getting set for job

    The starting point is skill analysis. Skills are the fundamental basis of job search. Employers are looking for certain skills, and the best jobs are those ones where your skills match the needs of the employer. There are three types of skills job specific, self-management and transferable skills. You also need to put together an arsenal of accomplishments. This is for those with fairly long working history, highlighting their career achievements.

    You need to understand your strength(s), weakness (es), interests, aptitude and potential. What would you like to do with your life, all your life? Using the input from the above, you will determine and write your career/job objective statement. It is a statement that describes or states what career or job (or a range of closely-related occupations) you desire. A job/career objective statement must highlight what skills you have to offer the employer as well.

    Job hunting strategy

    I am sure the question floating in your mind is “where are the jobs? You are already on your way to uncovering the job market. The next step is to analyse the job and business environment. There are opportunities in education/training, agriculture, accounting/banking/finance, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, service, government, civil-society/social/professional organisations, oil/gas, media/publishing sectors of the economy. All you need to do is to develop special interest in specific job market/segment that holds promise and potential of a good job for you.

    You will now generate a list of potential employers in respect of your chosen job objective. Necessary information may be obtained from friends, relations, consultants, vendors, newspapers, trade journals etc. Once you’ve made your choice, go after them- using conventional and unconventional means.

    How do you intend to pursue these job opportunities? Specifically, what is your job hunting strategy? I can only tell you what is working and what is not working Let us start with what is working poorly.

    Five ineffective job search strategies are:

    • Internet-posting your CV/Resume on the Internet, and expect potential employer to visit the board/site and make a choice, depending on the match between your skills and their requirements. It has four to 10 per cent success rate

    • Mailing out Resume CV to employers at random (Resume blasting). Seven per cent success rate.

    • Answering ads in professional/trade journals. Seven per cent success rate.

    • Responding to Newspaper ads. five to 24 per cent success rate. The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

    • Using employment agencies, five-28 per cent success rate.

    • The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

     

    Best five ways to search for job

    • Ask for job leads from family, friends, people you know, etc – “Do you know of any job at the place where you work, or elsewhere?” Thirty-three per cent success rate

    • Knocking on the door of any employer, factory, office etc, whether they are known to have vacancy or not. Forty-seven per cent success rate

    • Identifying subject/field of interest, identifying employers on that field and calling on them to ask if you they are hiring for the position you desire and that you know you can do well. Sixty-nine per cent success rate.

    • Do the above in a group with other job hunters. Seventy-six per cent success rate

    • Doing a life-changing job search (identifying your skills, proffered places, interest and acceptable working environment and going after the job you desire). Eighty-six per cent success rate.

    There is still a better method: combining the strategies (experts suggest it should not more than four!).

    A fact never to be forgotten: the major difference between successful and unsuccessful job seekers is not some factors out there, or the ‘barrier’ listed earlier. It is the way they go about their job hunt. A successful job search requires organisation and effort. Don’t think of yourself as unemployed.

    You have a job, full time job. If you are employed, think of your job search as a part-time job. If you are unemployed, the working hours of five to eight are available for your job search. If you are employed but seeking new opportunities, you need to make time for your job search, and be consistent.

    Job search requires that you develop a new set of priorities and schedules. Be aware that there will be distractions. Just about anything will sound better than looking for work. Don’t be fooled, your number one priority is finding that new job. Don’t let anything get in your way. Here are some tips:

    • Establish measurable goals, on daily and weekly basis. If you set 10 am-3 pm every Tuesday for research, your goal could be to identify 10 new employers you can pursue. Wednesday’s goal could be to contact the employer you identified on Tuesdays. Be realist, but challenge yourself.

    • Make yourself accountable. Check your progress at the end of each day and each week. Set new goals. It is a good strategy to involve someone else in your search. Give them permission to hold you accountable for your plans. Or join/create a job-hunters club/group.

    • Keep accurate records if you are conducting a serious job campaign. You make hundreds of contacts and generate new opportunities regularly. Don’t rely on your memory, develop and maintain a filling and/or a recording system – binders, pocket calendars and notebooks.

    Your destiny is in your hands in the year.

     

    PS: Give yourself a big advantage in the job market- get a copy of our recently published book, JobSearchGuru’s JOB-HUNTING MANUAL. Visit our website for details.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Seven drivers of effective job search (I)

    In 2013, I am almost sure you strongly desire to get your dream job. As far as this is concerned, we are one. We will like to see you succeed. Last week’s presentation and today’s are geared towards ensuring you achieve your objective. In fact we will give you set of “Quick Guide” to get you off the unemployment line in these first set of articles in 2013. Let us continue on the drivers of effective and fast job-hunting in Nigeria’s competitive job market. We have considered five drivers.

     

    Getting organisedfor job search

    The starting point is skill analysis. Skills are the fundamental basis of job search. Employers are looking for certain skills, and the best jobs are those ones where your skills match the needs of the employer. There are three types of skills job specific, self-management and transferable skills. You also need to put together an arsenal of accomplishments. This is for those with fairly long working history, highlighting their career achievements.

    You need to understand your strength(s), weakness (es), interests, aptitude and potential. What would you like to do with your life, all your life? Using the input from the above, you will determine and write your career/job objective statement. It is a statement that describes or states what career or job (or a range of closely-related occupations) you desire. A job/career objective statement must highlight what skills you have to offer the employer as well.

     

    Develop a job-hunting strategy

    I am sure the question floating in your mind is “where are the jobs? You are already on your way to uncovering the job market. The next step is to analyse the job and business environment. There are opportunities in education/training, agriculture, accounting/banking/finance, insurance, manufacturing, healthcare, service, government, civil-society/social/professional organisations, oil/gas, media/publishing sectors of the economy. All you need to do is to develop special interest in specific job market/segment that holds promise and potential of a good job for you.

    You will now generate a list of potential employers in respect of your chosen job objective. Necessary information may be obtained from friends, relations, consultants, vendors, newspapers, trade journals etc. Once you’ve made your choice, go after them- using conventional and unconventional means.

    How do you intend to pursue these job opportunities? Specifically, what is your job hunting strategy? I can only tell you what is working and what is not working Let us start with what is working poorly.

     

    The five most ineffective job search strategies are:

    • Internet-posting your CV/Resume on the Internet, and expect potential employer to visit the board/site and make a choice, depending on the match between your skills and their requirements. It has four to 10 per cent success rate

    • Mailing out Resume CV to employers at random (Resume blasting). Seven per cent success rate.

    • Answering ads in professional/trade journals. Seven per cent success rate.

    • Responding to Newspaper ads. five to 24 per cent success rate. The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

    • Using employment agencies, five-28 per cent success rate.

    • The higher the salary/position, the lower the success rate

     

    Now, the best five ways to search for a job

    • Ask for job leads from family, friends, people you know, etc – “Do you know of any job at the place where you work, or elsewhere?” Thirty-three per cent success rate

    • Knocking on the door of any employer, factory, office etc, whether they are known to have vacancy or not. Forty-seven per cent success rate

    • Identifying subject/field of interest, identifying employers on that field and calling on them to ask if you they are hiring for the position you desire and that you know you can do well. 69 per cent success rate.

    • Do the above in a group with other job hunters. Seventy-six per cent success rate

    • Doing a life – changing job search (identifying your skills, proffered places, interest and acceptable working environment and going after the job you desire) 86 per cent success rate.

    There is still a better method: combining the strategies (experts suggest it should not more than four!).

    A fact never to be forgotten: the major difference between successful and unsuccessful job seekers is not some factors out there, or the ‘barrier’ listed earlier. It is the way they go about their job hunt. A successful job search requires organisation and effort. Don’t think of yourself as unemployed.

    You have a job, full time job. If you are employed think of your job search as a part-time job. If you are unemployed, the working hours of five to eight are available for your job search. If you are employed but seeking new opportunities, you need to make time for your job search, and be consistent.

    Job search requires that you develop a new set of priorities and schedules. Be aware that there will be distractions. Just about anything will sound better than looking for work. Don’t be fooled, your number one priority is finding that new job. Don’t let anything get in your way. Here are some tips:

    • Establish measurable goals, on daily and weekly basis. If you set 10 am-3 pm every Tuesday for research, your goal could be to identify 10 new employers you can pursue. Wednesday’s goal could be to contact the employer you identified on Tuesday. Be realist, but challenge yourself.

    • Make yourself accountable. Check your progress at the end of each day and each week. Set new goals. It is a good strategy to involve someone else in your search. Give them permission to hold you accountable for your plans. Or join/create a job-hunters club/group.

    • Keep accurate records if you are conducting a serious job campaign. You make hundreds of contacts and generate new opportunities regularly. Don’t rely on your memory, develop and maintain a filling and/or a recording system – binders, pocket calendars and notebooks.

    Your destiny is in your hands in 2013.

     

    PS: Give yourself a big advantage in the job market- get a copy of our recently published book, JobSearchGuru’s JOB-HUNTING MANUAL. Visit our website for details.

     

     

     

  • Agric holds the ace in job creation

    Agric holds the ace in job creation

    Often times, government reels out statistics of steady economic growth. The growth index, say economists, is occasioned by rising oil prices and quantity of oil sold. An analyst, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, described such growth as “jobless, non-inclusive growth.” He enumerates how to create jobs through the agricultural sector and keep Nigerians in gainful employment, reports DUPE OLAOYE-OSINKOLU.

    Unemployment rate in Nigeria is burgeoning and at the moment stands at well over 30 per cent of the nation’s workforce. When segregated, the figures become more alarming, especially those for the youth which stand at about 70 per cent in the urban areas and 60 per cent in the rural areas. These numbers are increasing by the day and nothing seems to be in the offing in the nearest future to get anything done to reverse the trend. The consequences of this, both to the economy, polity and Nigeria as a whole are dire and demands immediate response both for now and the future.”

    This is the thrust of a paper by an analyst, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, at a gathering in Lagos. The paper, which centred on employment generation, addressed the issue of solution to unemployment, saying, agriculture remains the way out. He noted: “The easy money from petroleum led to the abandonment of agriculture, changes in the fiscal federalism and the pursuit of ‘easy life’ by the government and people of Nigeria.”

    Onuegbu in the paper entitled: Agriculture and unemployment in our country: The way forward, said despite Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate since 2000, “our rate of unemployment is one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa” . He also said agriculture can bail the youth out of unemployment.

    The drift of young men and women from the rural areas to the cities in search of jobs, he said, can be addressed through agriculture.

    He said agriculture can create new workplaces as it engages a large percentage of the population directly in its processes, such as land cultivation for crops, both in small and large holdings, poultry, piggery and dairy farms for milk production.

    The larger these workplaces are, the more the number of people employed in them, he said.

    Onuegbu said agriculture has not been the basic driver of job creation because of distorted national policies as agricultural development dwindled, unemployment worsened, showing a strong correlation between them, he argued.

    The agriculture sector, Onuegbu said, can redress the dislocation caused by the emergence of oil, adding: “In Nigeria, agriculture accounted for a larger percentage (about 70 per cent) of the number of people in employment, but with the emergence of oil, which distorted the economic allocative processes, more people left the land for white collar jobs.

    With this, agricultural production suffered and Nigeria gradually became a food importer, which finally, led with the passage of time, to her becoming dependent on the rest of the globe for food imports. As agriculture suffered, and as the population increased, as the skill demand level for other jobs increased over time and as lifestyle changed, more and more people found themselves increasingly in the unemployment queue. These sets of people, as a result of certain factors, were unable to go back to agriculture and this worsened the unemployment situation.

    “Agriculture can, therefore, generate increasing workplaces in its various stages and processes, from the preparation of the land, the planting of the crops, tending and caring, harvesting and storage and processing into various end or semi-end products. The same can be done with the other segments of the agricultural sector.

    “The agricultural value-chain is long and can be stretched to accommodate more and more workers seeking jobs. The more new farms come on stream, the more new hands are needed for their operations,” adding that agriculture creates new bases for jump-starting manufacturing activities.

    “Manufacturing activities depend very much on the raw materials provided by the agricultural sector. It provides the bases for individuals to become manufacturers. The technology involved in some of the early stages of the value chain in agriculture is often simple and is easily assessable to the interested entrepreneurs.

    “This, therefore, generates a basis for jump starting manufacturing which has the capacity of generating workplaces, thus increasing employment.”

    Onuegbu said when manufacturing activities rise in any economy, new workplaces are created. Agriculture being an enabler of small scale manufacturing, not only employs the entrepreneurs involved in it, it also allows them to become creators of jobs thus increasing employment.

    Agriculture, he said, generates absorptive capacities for new entrants into the job market. “New entrants into the job market, especially fresh graduates from both tertiary institutions and secondary schools at present do not command high level of skills needed in the highly technologically driven Industrial processes and most of the demands of the service sectors, such as the financial institutions, telecoms, etc. This allows for the existence of the syndrome of “unemployable Nigerian graduates,” meaning that even where there are vacancies, you may not readily find Nigerians to fill such vacancies.

    “However, the agricultural sector, because of the low skill demand in the lower end of the business, provides a readily available platform for the absorption of these low skilled new entrants into the labour market, either as entrepreneurs or as employees. With a vibrant agricultural sector therefore, it becomes easier for fresh graduates to participate productively in the nation’s economic processes.

    “Another plus that can be derived from agriculture is its being a source of seed money, or capital for investment in other businesses,” Onuegbu said.

    He said every economy needs investible capital to start new businesses. The agriculture sector, if properly directed, serves as a ready source of seed money for aspiring entrepreneurs to invest in other areas of the economy. The capital needed to start a small- scale holding farm is often not above the means of the average family and when the right crops are planted and income generated at the harvest season, a reinvestment of a proportion of this over some few years would serve as capital to go into other businesses that demand greater start-up capital.

    The availability of start-up capital creates jobs both for the business owner, eventual direct employees and others that may be engaged indirectly because of the spin-offs generated by the business thus established. This will impact positively on unemployment.

    Agriculture also creates horizontal and vertical multipliers. Agriculture, he said, is a primary industry, adding that many industries depend on it for their operations. If agriculture gets a boost, other sectors, both the ones that depend on it for raw materials and the ones it depends on for supplies are reinvigorated.

    “If we use fisheries, for example, which most of us here can identify with, or cassava cultivation, which is also prevalent here, the business chain that will be created out of these alone can turn this whole environment into an industrial/commercial hub. Starch can be made from cassava, which will attract both other food and pharmaceutical industries, flour for bread and other confectioneries, animal feeds by extension a vibrant poultry sector, the associated businesses to service and enable the sector will all come in with the attendant boom in the real estate sector. Just stretch your imagination and see what can happen to employment generation if we can carefully and consciously regenerate agriculture.

    “Having examined some of the roles the sector could play in reducing the present scourge of unemployment, it is imperative that we look at some of the factors that have impeded the growth of agriculture in Nigeria and, especially in our community, so that the roadmap forward can easily be discernible.”

    Onuegbu also spoke about impediments to agricultural development. To boost agriculture investment, he advocated subsidising major input to make the sector both locally and internationally competitive.

    “When a farmer knows that the price at which he will sell his products are already guaranteed even before planting, this reduces exposure to various associated risks and encourages him to expand his output. It allows him to calculate his probable returns with certainty and makes the financial sector to invest in agriculture.

    “Subsidy on power and oil may also serve as a boost to agricultural production. These include but not limited to: Agricultural loans to improve access to funds, provision of incentives – via pricing, subsidy etc, creating greater interface between government agencies, scientific findings and farmers.

    “There is an urgent need for a deliberate policy of creating funding pools for the development of agriculture. The Central Bank of Nigeria at present through the banks have set aside this pool of resources for investment in agriculture, but the problem is that these funds are not accessible to, especially, small- scale holders. The collaterals are very tough, the thresholds very high that the small scale are easily excluded for participation.

    “A system of rebates and tax holidays should be devised to encourage banks to lend to small scale holdings and the government should be able to guarantee some of these loans so that the issue of stringent security requirements would be mitigated making funds readily available for agriculture.

    “I know many young entrepreneurs, who have ideas of what they want to do in agriculture, but are hindered by funds. If funding is made more accessible, their creative energies will be unleashed on the agriculture sector. However, these young men remain frustrated and may, unfortunately, go to their graves without showcasing their ideas. Without funding, ideas will remain in our heads and atrophy.”

    He suggested conscious and deliberate efforts on the part of policy makers to make investment in the agriculture sector more attractive to old and budding entrepreneurs. He also sought duty waivers or reduction on imported equipment and other input for direct use in agricultural projects, tax holidays for organisations involved in agriculture, and price guarantees for certain products of agriculture.