Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, says most Nigerian youths are unemployed because of a lack of functional skills.Ngige said this while declaring open a one-day ‘Job, Career and Employability Fair’, yesterday in Abuja.
The fair was organised by the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in collaboration with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) with the theme ‘Promoting Employability, Skills Development and Decent Work’.Ngige, represented by Mrs Tilda Mmegwa, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, said stakeholders must be actively involved in preparing the African workforce for the ‘future of work’.
According to him, the Nigerian government is conscious that most unemployed are those without functional skills.“Our strategy, therefore, is to equip the unemployed youths with market-driven skills, which will facilitate their access to self or paid employment,” noted Ngige.
“In recognition of this reality, my ministry is keenly committed to equipping unemployed graduates with entry point competencies to make them employable. “The minister announced that the labour ministry had scheduled to train 37,000 unemployed graduates, 1,000 from the 36 states and the FCT, on soft skills and marketable resumes.“In the coming months, we will also train 3,500 unemployed youth in various vocations including fashion design, catering and event management, solar panel and CCTV installation, among others,’’ he explained.
The minister added that the ministry would empower each trainee with starter packs to venture into business. Ms Vanessa Phala, ILO’s country director, noted that many people had lost jobs due to COVID-19 and that the rate of unemployment had continued to increase.
Phala also mentioned that there was no social protection and called on Nigerian youths to be adaptable to new knowledge to gain employment.NECA President, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi, said the fair was organised to enhance employability and improve youths’ chances and other jobseekers getting employed.Adeniyi, represented by Mrs Olubunmi Adekoje, the Federation of Construction Industry director-general, suggested the fair should also be held in Port-Harcourt and Enugu.
