FG Signs MoU to Commence Talent Exports to Kuwait, Scandinavian Countries, Others

James Emejo in Abuja

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, yesterday, supervised the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ministry and UTEL Limited, to connect Nigerians to foreign jobs in Kuwait, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Scandinavian countries, among others.

The agreement, which will be executed by the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), marked another milestone in the government’s efforts to ensure that Nigerians have access to quality employment opportunities.

The deal provided openings for 250 foreign jobs for Nigerians.

The minister assured the partners that the country remained fully committed to upskilling its talent pool to power the industrial revitalisation plan of the federal government and also provide skilled citizens for global talent opportunities.

The employment opportunities included direct employment and emigration of talent or utilisation of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model for gainful and meaningful employment for those based in Nigeria.

Through NATEP, the country can honourably export her talents in a mutually beneficial and reputation preserving way, putting an end to illegal migration and the embarrassment therefrom to the country.

UTEL Ltd is a Nigerian subsidiary of Unique Agency Kuwait, which is a leading provider of expatriate employees for the government agencies and departments in the State of Kuwait.

The partnership with UTEL seeks to aggregate foreign jobs for Nigerians from Kuwait and other GCC countries in line with the federal government’s aim to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with nations and global institutions to facilitate the provision of jobs for Nigerians.

Research from the Migration Policy Institute Washington-DC, recently indicated that 54 per cent of Nigerian immigrants were likely to occupy management positions, compared to 32 per cent of other immigrants and 39 per cent of the US-born population.

Similarly, the 2021 Office for National Statistic Report from the United Kingdom (UK) showed that 44 per cent of adult residents born outside the UK had some form of qualification, compared to 31 per cent of UK-born residents, while 66 per cent Nigeria immigrants had received one form of qualification or another, and went to show the level of quality that Nigerians could bring to the table, according to NATEP.

Essentially, in a bid to promote talent and services export, as well as managed migration, the MoU specified a “1+2” approach for the partnership.

With this approach, for every Nigerian that is selected for a foreign job through NATEP, the partners will commit to helping connect an outsourced role to the Nigerian BPO ecosystem and also support in the training of a Nigerian to refresh the local workforce.

Other dignitaries at the ceremony included Mr. Athbi Hussein Al Awadi (from Kuwait); Mr. Tahir Saleh Hashim (from Oman); and Advokat Torgeir Knutsen (from Norway).