The Nation Newspaper

Tag: unemployment

  • ‘Technical, vocational education key to solving unemployment’

    ‘Technical, vocational education key to solving unemployment’

    Youth unemployment is a challenge facing many nations in the 21st Century. But how can government solve the problem? This was the focus of the seventh inaugural lecture delivered by Dr Emmanuel Aromolaran at the Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH).

    Aromolaran, who is a former Dean of School of Technical Education, spoke on the topic: Business education: A panacea for unemployment in a depressed economy. According to him, unemployment is cause of the waste of human resources found in abundance in Africa. He said the remedy was to train the youth towards job creation.

    Aromolaran said the government could use business education as a tool to fight unemployment through technologies and skill acquisition.

    He said: “It is pathetic, that our tertiary institutions’ graduates, having spent minimum of four years in school with one year compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme, will have to roam the street, looking for non-available jobs. Their inability to be engaged in productive venture makes many of them to take to crime and other social vices.”

    The don said the way out was for the government to empower unemployed youths through entrepreneurial training and establishment of small and medium scale enterprise. He also said collapse of disparity between university and polytechnic degrees would help in solving the unemployment riddle.

    In his conclusion, Aromolaran said technical and vocational skills acquisition remained the solution for Nigeria to escape the revolution by the army of unemployed youths.

    The lecture witnessed the gathering of academics and students. The body of principal officers was led by the Deputy Rector (Administration), Dr Morouf Adebakin. Others are Mrs Hannah Akanbi, Dean School of Technical Education, former Rector, Mr Gabriel Okufi, Prof Duro Ajeyalemi of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof Anthony Adekunle of Ekiti State University (EKSU) and Dr Femi Adeniyi, Provost, Federal College of Education, Oyo State, among others.

  • ‘Entrepreneurship is cure for unemployment’

    What is the best way to tackle youth unemployment and close the growing income gap? Two United  Kingdom-based mentors say it is by establishing start-up hubs. They have packaged an innovative scheme to offer fresh graduates and students support to start their own businesses, Daniel Essiet reports.

    Founder, Meridian Entrepreneurs Society, Mariam Tijani; Committee Member, Mrs Kafayat Ajuwon, and two young mentors, know that  a lot  of  young entrepreneurs have ideas but don’t  have  the capital  to  execute  their dreams.

    Notwithstanding, they are ready  to inspire  a new generation of Nigerians. The  society, according  to Mrs Tijani, is  working on a  project  to assist  fresh graduates and students to get their own businesses off the ground.

    She said the  society would provide an attractive package of intensive business start-up support for students and graduates launching their own businesses.

    The programme will provide new businesses with dedicated incubator space where budding entrepreneurs could benefit from help and advice from the project team, socialise and share ideas with other new start-ups.

    Participants, she said,  would also benefit from workshops which would equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in their businesses and would also give them the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs. Grant funding is also available, alongside further training, mentoring from industry experts and career guidance.

    According  to her, an  innovation incubator, which  will be  launched  soon will  provide   a complete support environment to stimulate and foster innovative entrepreneurial projects in the nation’s youth.

    She  said the hub  is a critical step to promoting creativity and entrepreneurship stressing the role of young Nigerians  in overall economic activity. She is optimistic that the  project  would make a huge impact and stimulate a new movement towards sustainable growth and economic development.

    She reiterated  the  commitment of the society to building a diverse partnership network with businesses, universities, technology companies and various institutions in order to identify, encourage and support business initiatives at the early stages development of start-ups.

    Committee member, Mrs  Ajuwon  said  the  hub will  mark  a  great beginning in youth development and innovation.

    According  to her,  the  hub  will  provide an effective vehicle in channelling youth creativity and building an entrepreneurial talent capital in Lagos.

    The  hub  will specifically look at helping the youth and start-up firms navigate the challenge of early stage development with a suite of services that help identify and remove bottlenecks and allow future entrepreneurs maintain their focus and move forward.

    She  said funding is vital to the development of small enterprises, adding that  supporting graduates to develop and start small businesses which in turn will create jobs are ways of addressing rising youth unemployment in the country.

    According to her, to solve the problem, the have devised an  online  portal  that  would serve  as a   digital platform  for  young  Nigerians  to upload  their    ideas and meet prospective  funders.

    She  said  the  platform  will   give entrepreneurs more access to capital, adding  that money paired with mentorship could turn ideas into flourishing businesses.

    Mrs Ajuwon said there is a real appetite for starting a business among young people and as  such, they need an environment  that  highlights self-employment and new venture creation as a career option.

    She said there is a shortage of good, practical advice aimed at young entrepreneurs who consider starting a business as a career path.

    Mrs Ajuwon   said the society will  organise regular networking events, enabling entrepreneurs to meet potential investors and advisors.

    She  said  the  hub  will   provide room for promising entrepreneurs to nurture their ideas on premise. The facility focuses on pushing young businesses forward and offers operational support and guidance, where required.

    With high rate of  unemployment, she  said universities should be  acting as business incubators and going the extra mile to set up enabling ecosystems for entrepreneurship to thrive in.

    To promote this, she said the   society  is  launching  a nationwide    tour of universities to drive entrepreneurial initiative for on-campus, incubation, adding that  enterprise-creation needs to be nurtured and given the right opportunities on the campuses.

    She  said the  society’s chapters will be created on campuses and  members helped to study and work in an entrepreneurial atmosphere, where they seek guidance and learn from one another.

  • Lack of soft skills causes of graduates’ unemployment’

    LACK of soft skills among graduates is responsible for the massive unemployment  in the country, the Chief Executive Officer of J. Soji-George and Co., a management consultant firm, Dr Soji George, has said.

    He said his meeting with job seekers at interviews showed that many graduates were not employable because they lacked the soft skills  needed at job interviews.

    George, a former lecturer at Greenish Ways University in the United Kingdom (UK) and a senior lecturer at the Department of Business Administration of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), spoke at a seminar by the firm for unemployed graduates held at the Nigerian Medical Institute in Yaba, Lagos. The event was sponsored by SEPLAT Oil Development Company.

    He said: “Graduates have skills in certificate but do not know how to dress to job interviews and what to say. They do not know how to present themselves at the interviews session neither do they know how to write curriculum vitae.”

    He said the firm had conducted interview for multinational companies and discovered that many graduates did not have the soft skills, which employers wanted. He said the seminar was held to train graduates in the skill that would improve their employment chances.

    He added: “The aim of J. Soji-George and Co. Management Consultant is to teach the participants how to be employable by developing their soft skills. We teach them how to write curriculum vitae, help them to edit it, send it back to them and groom them for job interviews.

    “This seminar is to tell the government that the problem is not unemployment but lack of employability skills on the part of the graduates. If this must stop, higher institutions would have to upgrade their curricula to include teaching students on soft skills.”

    Dr Oluwakemi Owoyemi, one of the facilitators, spoke on dressing and presentation at interviews. She said potential interviewees should always be conservative in dressing by wearing dark coloured clothes and prepare mentally for the exercise.

    She said: “Ladies should use moderate make up, jewelry and avoid unnecessary piercing. Their skirts must be below the knee and they should avoid high heels. Men should avoid dreadlocks, beard and ensure that they keep the hair well combed.”

    She advised the graduates to eat before they go for interviews and ensure they have a fresh breath.

    Prof Kayode Oguntuase, a psychologist at the School of Management Sciences, National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), told the participants to improve on their knowledge and live fruitful lives.

    Dr Tayo Otubanjo, a senior lecturer at Lagos Business School, urged the participants to engage in personal branding to increase their chances at interviews.

  • Cross River expresses worry over rising unemployment

    Cross River expresses worry over rising unemployment

    The Cross River  State has expressed worry over the case of rising unemployment among its youth.

    Deputy Governor Efiok Cobham, speaking during the launch of the YouLead project in Calabar, said the unemployment rate rose from 7.9 per cent in 2002 to 18.2 in 2011.

    The project in partnership with the Canadian government is a capacity building project promoting environmentally sustainable and market driven employment and entrepreneurship for young people in the state.

    Cobham said it was in recognition of the circumstances that they see entrepreneurship development as a veritable means of livelihood for our youths. .

    He said the state has enjoyed a long and productive relationship with Canada and expressed gratitude that the project would promote economic growth, employment and check rural drift.

    Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Perry Calderwood, said his country would contribute N2.4 billion to the project which would span five years.

    “The project aims to reduce youth unemployment through better quality technical vocational training in natural resource sectors. Through this project, Canada is proud to help increase employment, support small entrepreneurs and enable the youth of Cross River to achieve sustainable livelihoods,” he said.

    Calderwood said the need for meaningful, sustainable employment, especially for youth is a pressing issue in Nigeria as well as in many other developing countries.

    “Nigeria has a young population and its youth is energetic, creative and keen to realise its potential and contribute to the country’s development.

    “YouLead builds on Canada’s previous and ongoing work with various Nigerian organisation and government bodies to improve how your country manages the development of its natural resources.

    “In promoting sustainable livelihood we are committed to sharing proven Canadian approaches and experience on how best to manage natural resources,” he said.

    The Chairman of the YouLead Project Steering Committee, Prof Ndem Ayara, said 5, 000 micro-small youth entrepreneurs would be employed by the project.

  • ‘Insecurity, power bane of unemployment’

    ‘Insecurity, power bane of unemployment’

    A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly representing Ojo 1 constituency, Muyibat Adeyemi Rufai, has identified insecurity and unstable power as the reasons for high rate of unemployment in the country.

    The lawmaker stated this at a weekly ‘Time out with the press’ question and answer programme organised by correspondents at the Lagos Assembly.

    According to her, because of this twin factors, a lot of companies have either had to relocate to neighbouring countries or close down completely thereby denying many employment opportunities.

    “And even those among the unemployed who want to go into private businesses are also discouraged from doing so because of lack of power and insecurity. Even artisans are also suffering from the same malaise.

    “The private sector is supposed to provide the highest number of employment for citizens than the governments at the three tier but the private sector is handicapped because of this same twin problems,” Rufai said.

    She laid the whole blame for the current situation on the doorstep of the  federal government saying, “the federal government has failed us in this country and that is why today they are begging investors to come and invest, but the prevailing insecurity and power problem scare the investors away.”

  • Oyo, SMEDAN partner to address youth unemployment

    Oyo, SMEDAN partner to address youth unemployment

    The Governor of Oyo State,  Senator Abiola Ajimobi has promised to leverage on the opportunities offered by the  Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) programmes to address the challenges of unemployment and poverty in the state.

    Ajimobi made the remark  during a courtesy visit by Oyo State delegation on SMEDAN management, at its corporate headquarters in Abuja. The governor who was represented by his Deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, noted that poverty and escalating unemployment could be attributable to the disturbing security challenges with their consequences on the socio-economic and political vicissitudes.

    He stressed that SMEDAN as government agency responsible for the creation and development of micro, small and medium enterprises in the country, has a crucial role to play in translating the government’s agenda of drastic reduction of unemployment and poverty among Nigerians.

    Governor Ajimobi regretted that in the past, Oyo State government did not take advantage of partnering with SMEDAN to translate some of its programmes that are geared towards fighting youth unemployment and poverty alleviation in the state.

    “I want to assure you that from today Oyo State will be in active partnership and collaboration with SMEDAN in order to derive maximum benefits of your laudable programmes that could positively change the lives of our people,” he said.

    The governor added that even as Oyo lagged behind in partnership between state governments and SMEDAN,  the current efforts of the Ajimobi administration will make Oyo a leading state in partnering with the agency.

    “Henceforth, Oyo State government will participate fully in all SMEDAN programmes so that the state could benefit from the good gesture of empowering the people through creation and developing of  small businesses,” he promised.

    Responding, the Director General of SMEDAN, Alhaji Bature Umar Masari, thanked the entourage for choosing  SMEDAN among government institutions to partner with on enterprise development and youth empowerment.

    ”I am indeed very delighted to have a high powered delegation from a state government in a quest for partnership  and collaboration on job creation. We are ready and capable of collaborating with you to extend the desired dividend of democracy to the people of Oyo State.

    ”The National Enterprises development Programme (NEDEP) and One Local Government , One Project (OLOP) programme have a lot of potentials that will benefit your people; we promise to constantly engage your state so that all the content of NEDEP will be extended to your people.”

  • ‘Weak private sector responsible for unemployment’

    ‘Weak private sector responsible for unemployment’

    The failure of successive governments to provide infrastructure   has led to a weak private sector that is unable to provide needed jobs for the youths..

    This dearth of infrastructural facilities has scared away would-be investors in the country leading to  unemployment in the country, Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has said.

    Ahmed threatened to nullify any employment into the state’s civil service which did not draw applicants from the pool of youths currently taking part in the state’s employment bridging project, KWABES.

    Ahmed, who made the promise during a Town Hall meeting with youths participating in the scheme, was responding to allegations by some of the participants to the effect that contrary to the promise by his government during the launch of the scheme, some fresh intake into the state’s civil service had been made ‘through the back door’.

    The governor, who acknowledged getting the report, gave the youths his personal email address to furnish him with details as he expressed disappointment that some people could be working against the vision of the project.

    “I have been getting report and you have confirmed here that the scheme I put in place has not been followed to the letter,” he told the youths assembled from across the 16 local government areas of the state.

    Said he: “I am going to say openly that if anyone is found smuggling anybody into the civil service without going through KWABES, that employment will be nullified and the person who perpetrated it will be sanctioned because we cannot create a programme and somebody will be sabotaging it.

    “I have given my instruction very clearly that the people on the bridge are the first consideration for employment anywhere they are and it will remain so.”

    He told the youths, who also pledged to support him if he would contest the 2015 election in the state, that all stakeholders must work to ensure that KWABES succeeds as the private sector in  is not yet strong enough to absorb everyone seeking employment even though the sector is supposed to be the creator of jobs.

    The governor also gave details of his administration’s struggles with dwindling monthly revenue from the Federation Account saying last year, the state only got a total of N38 billion compared with a state such as Akwa Ibom that got N460 billion over the same period of time.

    “But despite our position, we are one of the few states that have been paying salaries as wt when due, we have also not defaulted on pensions as well as the promotion of our civil servants,” the governor said.

  • NEPAD group tackles youth unemployment

    NEPAD group tackles youth unemployment

    Alarmed by the high level of graduate unemployment in the country, the New Partment for African Development (NEPAD) Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) has initiated a training programme for youths tagged ‘NBGN Graduates’ Employability Improvement & Development Initiative (GEIDI).

    In a statement by  Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) Chairman,NEPAD Business Group, Oluwole  Dosumu, the training is in furtherance of its objective of wealth creation for poverty alleviation.

    Unveiling the programme at a press conference in Lagos, the NBGN Chairman, Chief Chris Ezeh, explained that it was intended to equip Nigerian graduates with both technical and entrepreneurial skills “to address the observed mismatch in graduate training and those skills required in modern workplace for enhanced employability and self-reliability.”

    He added that since unemployment of youths posed a great challenge to the economy and the eventual growth of the nation, NBGN had no choice but to partner with government in assisting to find a solution to the scourge of youth unemployment and its associated vices.

    GEIDI is a six-month programme  organised in conjunction with the Nigeria Opportunities Industrialisation Centres (NOIC), Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), among others.

    According to Ezeh, the group has secured BOI’s assurances of making available suitable loan facilities to qualified graduates of the scheme to set up in their chosen trade and vocations while NOIC and SMEDAN would provide the vocational training and entrepreneurial development skills development respectively.

    The NEPAD boss charged other Business Membership Organisations (BMOs), the Organised Private Sector, Non-Governmental Organisations and development groups to join hands with government in reducing youth unemployment “for socio-economic growth of our dear nation”.

    The maiden edition of the scheme is scheduled to start in the first week of September with 50 trainees drawn from all over the federation. Courses being offered include Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Computer hardware Maintenance, Hotel & Catering Management, Electrical Installation, Automotive Mechanics as well as Painting & House Decoration.

  • Bayelsa battles unemployment

    Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson has said his administration will create jobs for the youths.

    The governor noted that his government had employed more Bayelsa youths more than any other government. He stressed that about 200 forestry guards from different local government areas had recently been engaged on the basis of equal representation.

    According to the governor, in order to reduce unemployment in the state, the government appointed youths into positions of trust, besides the recent recruitment of 100 graduates and 1,000 non-graduates into the Bayelsa Volunteers scheme.

    Dickson, who addressed journalists at the Government House, said he had also authorised the employment of science teachers to fast track and enhance the teaching of science subjects in all schools in the state.

    “There are some employments we have authorised, and let me assure you that we have employed more youths than a lot of governments have done. Do you know that we have employed over 200 on the basis of equality of local governments?”

    Restating government’s commitment to creating jobs, Dickson said the situation was more challenging for states like Lagos and Kano with population of about 15 million, stressing that the problem of unemployment was aggravated by the dwindling resources of the state and the over-bloated wage bills.

    He, however, declared his administration’s intention to fight poverty and unemployment in collaboration with youths by creating wealth through agriculture and investments in relevant sectors of the state’s economy.

  • Don to govt: Invest in agric to reduce unemployment

    The Provost, Oyo State College of Agriculture, Igboora, Prof. Gbemiga Adewale,  has called on the government to invest in agriculture to reduce unemployment in the country.

    Adewale said more investment and concentration on agricultural development would reduce unemployment to a minimal level.

    According to him, unemployment can only be eradicated in Nigeria if the federal and state governments invest in agriculture.

    “They should provide conducive environment that will entice jobless youths to the sector,” he said.

    He urged the government to enhance the capacity of the youths through support for vocational studies to make them self-reliant, adding that the government should also provide soft loans for young farmers.

    “God has been so kind to this country because we are blessed with fertile land on which we can plant any crop across the nation and you can be sure of good harvest at the end.

    “But I sincerely believe that millions of our unemployed youth will go back to farm if the governments, I mean the federal, state and local governments, can make it a point of duty to provide enabling environment.

    “They should do that by making tractors and other equipment available, provide storage facilities, soft loans and buy the goods from them, possibly for export when necessary,” the provost said.

    He said the institution was ready to provide technical assistance, including consultancy to farmers.