Nigerian Youths Are Not Employable– Hon. Ngige.
The Honourable Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Hon. Chris Ngige, said most youths in Nigeria are unemployed because they lacked fundamental and functional skills. The Minister said this while declaring open a one-day Trade, Job, Career, and Employability Fair, on Thursday in Abuja.
The fair was organized by the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association in collaboration with the International Labour Organization themed “Promoting Employability, Skills Development, and Decent Work”.
Hon. Ngige, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation, Mrs. Tilda Mmegwa, urged all stakeholders to be actively involved in preparing the African workforce for the future. According to him, the Nigerian government is conscious of the fact that most of the youths who are umemployed are those without functional skills.
In his words “Our strategy, is to equip the unemployed youths with market-driven skills, which will facilitate their access to self or paid employment.
“In recognition of this reality, my ministry is keenly committed to equipping unemployed graduates with entry point competencies to make them employable.
“I am, therefore, elated to inform the public that my ministry is scheduled to train 37,000 unemployed graduates, 1,000 in each of the states of the federation and the FCT, on soft skills and marketable resumes.
“In the coming months, we will also train 3,500 unemployed youth in various vocations such as fashion design, catering and event management, solar panel and CCTV installation, among others.’’
The minister said that each of the trainees would be empowered with starter packs to immediately venture into business. He said the initiatives showcased the commitment of the present administration to provide unemployed youths with the cutting-edge skills to start a self or paid employment.
