LAGOS’FRESH EMPLOYMENT INITIATIVES

There exists a large army of unemployed youths in our country. According to a latest National Bureau of Statistics report, the country’s unemployment rate is 14.2%. But this number still did not include about 40 million Nigerian youths captured in World Bank statistics in 2009. By implication, it means that if Nigeria’s population is 180 million, then 50% of Nigerians are unemployed, or worse still, at least 71% of Nigerian youths are unemployed. This is particularly disturbing.

Since Lagos State is home to about 21 million Nigerians, it is safe to affirm that the state, which is the fifth largest economy in Africa, feels the brunt of the menace of youth employment the most. That Lagos alone accounts for over 70% of national industrial investments makes it attractive to job seekers from all across the country.

In Lagos, unemployed youths fall into various categories viz employable and unemployable degree holders, medium level education certificate holders, school certificate holders and drop outs and those who never made it beyond primary schools. Stark illiterates also swam on the state on a daily basis, seeking jobs.

In order to frontally address the state’s peculiar unemployment question, the state government has put in place several new initiatives alongside existing ones. For instance, to prepare graduates for life after school, Ready-Set-Work was launched. It is an entrepreneurial and employability training programme aimed at ensuring that every student who graduates from any tertiary institution in Lagos has knowledge, skills, and attitude required to gain employment upon graduation.

The 13-week training programme prepares final year students for immediate entry into the workforce as employees and employers of labour by equipping them with market-aligned soft skills, business tools, and a mindset re-orientation to the world of work. Since its inception in 2016, 12,500 students have benefited from the programme.

Another fresh strategy being deployed to tackle unemployment in the state is the revamp of technical education. Technical education is the form of education that prepares people for specific trades, crafts and careers at various levels. As our country aspires to diversify its economy; it is evident that a vital instrument needed for attaining such height is skilled manpower development and a competent workforce. It is in order to address this need that the state government has been boosting technical education in the state.

The collapse of many industries and the limited capacity of government at various levels to employ the teeming population have made white collar jobs practically non-existent. However, there exists job opportunities in other areas that our youths need to be sufficiently equipped to exploit. In the construction industry, for instance, there abounds limitless opportunities for youths with relevant skills for gainful employment. Sadly, this is not being fully exploited because of lack required competence. Thus, to get the needed good hands, property entrepreneurs go to neighbouring Benin Republic, Togo, Ghana and Cameroon.

Presently, the Lagos State government is laying great emphasis on technical education to reverse the trend. Hence, the five technical and vocational colleges in the state have been rehabilitated and properly equipped while advocacy campaigns have been stepped up to get more students enroll into the colleges. Steadily, the efforts are paying off as enrolment into the colleges has increased by 120%, a situation that has spurred approval for the establishment of three additional technical colleges in the state.

The state government is equally partnering with several firms to further develop technical education through the setting up of academies within the colleges. Notable among these are Samsung (Engineering Academy), Electrical Power Engineering (power academy), Automechatronics (automotive academy) and Julius Berger (construction academy). The good thing about this development is that some of them provide instant employment for graduates of these colleges since they can vouch for their competence. For instance, 26 graduates of the state’s technical colleges were recently recruited by Dangote Groups as Technician Trainees at Dangote Academy, Obajana while 115 Graduates in Electrical Installation were recruited by Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company.

To further exploit the current momentum, the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board has collaborated with General Electric for the training of students and Instructors on 3D Printing Technology and Kansai Plascon on Human Capacity Development for 15 instructors in painting and decorating. The quality of training has also led to the employment of some graduates of the colleges while many have equally become self- employed.

In order sustain existing progress in terms of enhanced job opportunities, the agriculture and agro business sector, with huge capacity for mass employment, is equally being creatively explored. Thus, the Agric Yes programme is being vigorously pursued to train students, school leavers and graduates in agro related enterprises at Araga in Epe. Adesegun Ogundeji, Deputy Director, Public Affairs, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Alausa, Ikeja