The Nation Newspaper

Tag: jobs

  • Foundation provides jobs tools

    Foundation provides jobs tools

    A non-profit organisation, Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, in collaboration with the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, has provided entrepreneurial tools to 29 beneficiaries in Umuahia, the Abia State capital.

    It was part of the organisation’s annual charity programme.

    The group provided items ranging from cash for petty traders to motorcycles, cassava grinding machines, tricycles, industrial sewing machines, ipads, all of which were estimated at N1.5 million.

    Speaking to the beneficiaries, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the group, Imam Abdullahi Shuaibu said that it was founded over 40 years ago and has been pre-occupied with giving a voice to the voiceless and hope to the hopeless.

    Shuaibu said that in fulfilment of its cardinal program, the foundation through its empowerment program is determined to touch the lives of humanity, irrespective of the religion the beneficiaries may come from, stressing that the issue of alms giving does not know any boundary.

    The CEO of the foundation said that the empowerment programme in Umuahia, will have 89% of the beneficiaries receive seed money for their various trades and petty business, 8.65% took care of the educational needs of those whose parents are indigent, while less than 2% of the fund went to the general welfare and sustenance of the poor.

    He went on to enjoin the beneficiaries to make judicious use of the money and the equipment to make life more meaningful to themselves and their families, adding that they should also try to empower others, “As God will judge all those who will betray the trust placed on them.”

    In his remarks the state chairman of Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Sheik Ibrahim Chima appreciated the Zakat and Sadaqat foundation for always remembering the state every year in its annual empowerment programme for the needy in the state.

    Sheik Chima urged the beneficiaries of the empowerment programme to ensure that they make good use of the equipment being given to them, while pleading with those who did not benefit to bear with the foundation as there will always be another program in the coming year.

    In his welcome address the Vice President of the Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs in the state and the Transition Chairman of Umuahia North local government area, Alhaji Sulaiman Ukandu said that the program of the foundation is consonance with the program-mes of the present government of Dr Okezie Ikpeazu.

    Alhaji Ukandu said that the foundation is replicating the vision of the governor by providing succour to the youths of the state by empowering them and thanked the coordinator of the foundation, Imam Shuaibu, “As Islam emphasises arms giving and assistance to the poor and urged the beneficiaries to learn to empower others as God will reward mankind through alms giving.”

     

  • Youths appeal for jobs

    The Federal government has been urged to create jobs for unemployed youths in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and indeed the entire country.

    The call was made by Mr. Chikezie Erege, the National President, Youth Mountain of Hope.

    Erege staged a one-man peace protest march in Abuja to express his grievances to the government over the unemployment profile in the FCT and other parts of the country.

    The one-man protester  marched round the major streets in the FCT and the entrance of the National Assembly dressed in green-white-green  carrying a placard with the inscription, ‘Pls restore the Nigerian lost glory,  Mr. President,  VP,  National and State Legislators.

    He explained that he has been on a 40-day hunger strike to make known his grievances.

    Erege said that he decided to stage a one-man protest because he felt the pains of the unemployed youths in the FCT and entire Nigeria, and that since Nigeria is recognised as the giant of Africa,  there is the need for the present government to restore the lost glory of the country.

    “Today, Nigeria is called the giant of Africa,  but because of corruption and unemployment in the country,  our youths are now the easiest people to use as slaves by most corrupt people. Nobody cares about the rate of unemployment in the country.

    “That is why I am calling on the attention of the government at all levels through this one man protest,  which is the easiest protest to control,  for the government to restore the Nigerian lost glory,  so that the youth of this country will rejoice once more,” he said.

    According to Erege,  the government needs to kill corruption from the grassroots to the top,  mostly within the Police and the educational sector,  saying that there is corruption everywhere in Nigeria,  where the people are been denied their rights,  in order for them to remain poor forever.

    “Today,  makes it 1000 days since I have been protesting over this issue and I am appealing to the government to give hope to the youth in th country. I decided to go on hunger strike for 40 days, just to draw  the attention of the government to the plight of the suffering people,” he said.

  • Labour urges govt not to axe jobs

    Labour urges govt not to axe jobs

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of  Nigeria (ASCSN) has urged the Federal Government not to use the opportunity of the staff screening to send  workers into the already saturated labour market.

    In a statement, the ASCSN National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, recalled that one of the cardinal campaign promises of Mr. President’s party was that it was going to create jobs for millions of jobless Nigerians.

    He said: “Even in a recent retreat organised by the Federal Government for ministers-designate, President Muhammadu Buhari re-emphasised the commitment of his administration to diversify the economy, upgrade infrastructure, and generate employment opportunities for the teeming jobless citizens.

    “We, therefore, urge the government to invest more energy in these areas to revitalise the economy instead of toeing the old pattern of resorting to retrenchment of civil servants once there is a minor hiccup in the economy,” Kaigama

    According to the ASCSN chief, the staff strength in the core civil service is less than 100,000 while that of the entire public service including the civil service is about 870,000.  These also include the Army, Navy, Air Force, Police, Customs, Immigration, universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other agencices.

    “For a population of 180 million people, this is certainly insignificant when it is considered that employment generation and other welfare programmes for the citizens are part of government’s responsibility.  It is just a mere 0.48 per cent of the entire population.”

  • 10,000 Akwa Ibom youths ‘ll get agric jobs

    The Akwa Ibom State government has said it will create jobs for 10,000 youths in the agricultural sector to sustain the administration’s plan for an agricultural revolution.

    Governor Udom Emmanuel spoke at the weekend in Uyo, the state capital, during an interaction with leaders of major socio-cultural organisations.

    He said his administration was committed to laying a solid economic foundation for the future through industrialisation.

    Emmanuel said for the agricultural revolution’s take-off, 10 modernised cassava processing plants would be established across the state.

    The governor noted that the state was blessed with arable land that makes cultivation easy for all seasons.

    He expressed commitment to exploiting the agricultural potential in the state by ensuring that the vast arable land across the state was cultivated.

    Emmanuel said the job creation plan would make it easier for youths, who were sent to Israel for training on mechanised farming, to maximise their skills in agriculture.

    The governor noted that the move was meant to ensure that indigenes could earn a living rather than beg for it.

    “He said: “If we don’t plant today, there may not be harvest tomorrow to sustain the people as overdependence on oil does not do the economy any good.”

  • LCCI: three million jobs yearly possible with SMEs

    LCCI: three million jobs yearly possible with SMEs

    The Federal Government’s promise of creating three million jobs yearly is achievable, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Director General Mr. Muda Yusuf has said. It can be achieved with the aid of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the real sector, he said.

    Speaking at a forum with the theme: ‘Job Creation through Entrepreneurship Empowerment’ held in Lagos, he said entrepreneurship plays an important role in the economic growth and development of any nation. “It is a purposeful activity involving the initiation, promotion and distribution of wealth and service,” he said.

    He, however, listed some of the obstacles to include skill and human capacity issues, hash business environment – infrastructure lapses, policy and regulatory shortcomings, access and cost of funds, macroeconomic challenges, interest rate and inflation, multiple taxation and inadequate incentives for entrepreneurial development.

    He called for  collaboration between the public and private sectors; development of incubation centres and enterprise development centres; creation of  free trade zones; promote the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in schools and colleges; use mentoring as a means of business skills development to encourage skill sharing and long-term personal relationship between mentor and mentee; and providing vocational skills and income-generation opportunities for the marginalised, such as women, people with disabilities and the unemployed.

    The Director General/Chief Executive, Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Dr. (Mrs) Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko, said ITF has achieved over 70 per cent job placement for its trainees across major sectors of the economy.

    According to her, the ITF’s focus was to ensure 100 per cent employment for trainees that had benefitted from the various trainings conducted in collaboration with the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) and other organisations.

    “Our focus is to achieve 100 per cent employment for all trainees that come on the platform. And so far, I would say that we have done quite well. Up to 70 per cent get retained by the companies that work with us to train these people, and some go to sister companies, other companies that offer the same services, and they get employed.”

    She said over 74,000 Nigerians have been trained in various vocational and technical areas under the 1,000 per state training scheme, while about one million benefitted from the overall ITF training projects, in-house and across industries in the last one year.

    The Director-General assured that the ITF would continue to increase the number of trainees in the coming years to further address the issues of unemployment in the country, adding that already the process of training two million annually has commenced.

    “I have told my team that we should look at training and working on getting jobs for at least 50 per cent of four million people to be trained. That is because the need is huge. If we don’t do this considering the number of youths that graduate from the universities every year, from the polytechnics and even the secondary schools, the unemployment rate will continue to grow at a very high rate”, she said.

    Onaeko was honoured with award of Excellence in Vocational Training and Development.

  • Standard Chartered to axe 1,000 senior jobs

    Standard Chartered bank, a London-based lender that makes most of its profit in Asia, could cut up to 1,000 senior jobs, according to an internal memo sent to staff.

    The move from chief executive Bill Winters is meant to cut costs.

    The bank has grown very quickly since the financial crisis and some roles are now not needed, sources told the BBC.

    Standard Chartered said it had disclosed before “that there would be further personnel changes to come”.

    “We have already acted to reduce management layers, and a result will have up to 25% fewer senior staff,” the bank said in a statement.

    Mr Winters told staff in the memo that about a quarter of senior managers, of director level or above, would be cut. There are about 4,000 bankers in the grades affected by the decision.

    The bank employs about 88,000 people in total. It has grown rapidly, from about 44,000 in 2005.

    Mr Winters took over from former diplomat Peter Sands in June and said he would simplify Standard Chartered with a “new management team and simpler organisational structure”.

    The bank has already shed some businesses, in Hong Kong, China and Korea, booking a gain of $219m and improving its capital position.

    Standard Chartered hired Mark Smith from Asia-focused rival HSBC to join as new chief risk officer.

    Mr Winters also cut the dividend to help the bank strengthen its capital base – a safety net protecting it from unexpected financial knocks. He has also not ruled out raising more capital if needed.

  • Air France set to axe 2,900 jobs

    Air France KLM is reported to be cutting 2,900 jobs after talks with pilots unions were unsuccessful.

    Air France would not confirm the number of cuts, but said it would present a cost-cutting plan at the weekend.

    Profits at the airline have been hit in part by strikes by pilots, who have been protesting over the expansion of its budget subsidiary.

    It also faces stiff competition from low-cost rivals as well as airlines in the Middle East.

    Air France said after a board meeting that it had decided to implement a new restructuring plan in order to accelerate its recovery.

    “Facing the impossibility of reaching an agreement to implement the productivity measures within Air France and restore long-term profitability, the board members consider it essential to introduce an alternative plan and have unanimously agreed to mandate Air France-KLM and Air France Management to carry this out,” the company said in a statement.

    The plan will be presented to the Works Council on today.

    Union sources leaked the planned job cuts to reporters at two news agencies.

    The unions also said the restructuring could include retiring five long haul planes next summer and nine others in 2017.

    One official is quoted as saying: “These points were presented to the board for information, but no vote has been taken.”

    Air France merged with Dutch KLM in 2004.

  • Ortom promises jobs for unemployed graduates

    Ortom promises jobs for unemployed graduates

    Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom has promised to provide jobs for all the unemployed graduates idling away in the state.

    The state, he said, has a lot of young people willing to further their education, but are unfortunate not to have jobs after graduation.

    He urged the executive secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Prof Suleiman Bogoro, to invest more in the state and promised to use the investments judiciously.

    He said this in Abuja when he visited the executive secretary.

    “I want to assure you that whatever you have invested in my state, we will make judicious use of them under my watch,” he said.

    He added that the government is training youths from primary to tertiary levels to go into agriculture to ensure that the state remains  the food basket of the nation.

    Ortom said: “We have a lot of young men willing to further their education. The opportunities are there; people are enthusiastic although there are no jobs. We believe that during my time, I will create jobs because my main objective is to ensure that we generate enough jobs, create wealth and opportunities for our people.  All those people idling away after graduation, I believe that they will soon find jobs.

    “Agriculture is one of my five pillars – just like education – that we are set to achieve within four years of our tenure. We are looking at training and equipping our young ones and to practically move into agriculture. We want to really represent Nigeria as the food basket of the nation and our dream is not only to be the food basket of the nation but of Africa.”

    Responding, Bogoro urged the tertiary institutions in the state to use TETFund grants to boost agricultural development.

    “The state universities and College of Agriculture should continue to compete in the aspect of research collaboration in agricultural development in the state and we will be able to legitimately put money there from TETFund,” he said.

     

  • Whole Foods Market to axe 1,500 jobs

    Upscale food market operator Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) said it would cut about 1,500 jobs, or about 1.6 percent of its workforce, over the next eight weeks.

    The cuts are aimed at reducing costs as the company invests in technology upgrades, Whole Foods said in a filing.

    The affected positions were mainly in stores, but “back of house” positions that were not customer facing, the company said in an email to Reuters.

    Whole Foods said it would offer employees options including transition pay, severance, or allow them to apply for other jobs.

    The job cuts come as the retailer is working to shed its “Whole Paycheck” nickname and its reputation for high prices. Whole Foods said in May that it would launch a new chain of smaller, more value-focused shops next year.

    The company, which dominates the natural and organic grocery category, faces increasing competition from specialty and mainstream retailers.

    The New York’s Department of Consumer Affairs said in June it was investigating Whole Foods after finding that the company charged too much for some prepackaged foods at nine of its New York City stores.

    The company’s shares were down 0.5 percent at $30.96 in low volumes in premarket trading on Monday.

     

     

  • Scheme to provide jobs for youths, says Ahmed

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said the Next Entrepreneur Scheme introduced by his administration, which provides up to N10million micro-credit for each medium scale business, is to promote youth employment in the private sector.

    The governor, who spoke at the weekend in Oke-Ode, Ifelodun Local Government, said the micro-credit window would provide funds for small business owners to grow their businesses.

    He assured the people that the proposed independent power project and other projects would stimulate investment and economic activities.

    Said Ahmed: “We intend to stimulate investment inflow through our projects, such as an independent power project and major infrastructure across the state.

    “My administration remains committed to ensuring equitable distribution of projects. It is our expectation that these projects will stimulate economic activities and create jobs for youths.”

    According to him, the provision of qualitative education for the Kwara child remained important to his administration’s prosperity programme, as additional classrooms would be built as well as new campuses for the Kwara State University (KWASU).

    His words: “The proposed projects include 2,000 blocks of new classrooms, new campuses for KWASU in Osi and Ilesha Baruba and major projects.”

    On road projects, the governor said Share-Oke-Ode, Ipetu-Rore, Pategi-Kpada, dualisation of Michael Imoudu to Ganmo road in Ilorin, among others, would be completed.

    He said peace and harmony must prevail to enable the realisation of the projects and programmes, adding that grievances and desire for remedies, when expedient, should be through traditional, religious and legal platforms, rather than through self-help.

    Governor Ahmed has approved the appointment of Dr. Muritala Awodun as the pioneer executive chairman of the state Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and Dr. Isaac Gbenle as its new director of Field Operations, Processes and Research.

    A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and Communications, Dr. Muyideen Akorede, said the appointments were made following a rigorous selection and interview to ensure that only the best candidates were appointed in view of the strategic importance of the KWIRS.

    Until his appointment, the new executive chairman of the state revenue service, was the dean of the School of Business and Governance (SBG), Kwara State University, Malete.

    He was also the founding director of KWASU Centre for Entrepreneurship, 2009-2014 and the founding head of the Department of Management Sciences.

    Dr. Awodun holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics, a Master of Science in Economics and a PhD in International Business.

    He is a Fellow of the Institute of Entrepreneurs, Nigeria and the Institute of Direct Marketing of Nigeria. He is an alumnus of the Harvard Business School Executive Education Programme and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

    Dr. Gbenle is a recognised leader in IT Assurance and Security, and an expert in Enterprise IT and governance. He has a Bachelors degree in Economics, Master’s in Business Administration and PhD in IT Assurance & Security.

    Dr. Gbenle has directed and managed IT strategic and operational planning, and established appropriate governance structures, frameworks and tools that supported the business needs of several organisations.