Nigeria
needs to ramp up training and job creation schemes for university graduates, a
leading recruitment agency said on Monday, after a survey indicated nearly half
of those with a higher education qualification were unemployed.
A
total of 41,032 (45.72 per cent) of the 89,755 people who responded to the
survey on jobberman.com said they were unemployed graduates, the Lagos-based
firm said in an emailed statement.
The
results demonstrated the “need for urgent actions on both public and private
sector operators”, calling the number of unemployed graduates “cause for
worry”, it added.
“Using
this survey as a representative sample for the entire employment age
population, it is clear that more work needs to be done to put more people in
jobs.”
It
added: “In addition, as employers continue to complain about a dearth of skills
among graduates, a massive skill acquisition programme should be put in place
for graduates and more industries put in place to assimilate them.”
But
the economy has been hit hard by the global fall in oil prices since mid-2014,
weakening the naira currency, while foreign exchange controls have hit
investment.
Unemployment
has long been a concern, with official rates currently at 9.9 percent.
President
Muhammadu Buhari, who is trying to kick start the economy, on Monday said
poverty, injustice and unemployment were the main causes of conflict in the
country.
All
three have been seen as a recruitment tool for Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency
in the northeast.
No comments:
Post a Comment