By Ijeoma UKAZU
Projections from KPMG, a multinational consulting firm, say Nigeria’s unemployment rate would hit 41 per cent in 2023. They attributed this high rate to the continuous inflow of job seekers into the job market.
According to KPMG, “Unemployment is expected to continue to be a major challenge in 2023 due to the limited investment by the private sector, low industrialisation and slower than required economic growth and consequently the inability of the economy to absorb the 4-5 million new entrants into the Nigerian job market every year.
Although the National Bureau of Statistics recorded an increase in the national unemployment rate from 23.1per cent in 2018 to 33.3per cent in 2020. We estimate that this rate has increased to 37.7per cent in 2022 and will rise further to 40.6 per cent in 2023.”
The report also said that in 2024, the unemployment rate will grow to 43 per cent while inflation will accelerate to 20.3 per cent in 2023 and 20.0 per cent in 2024.
How can unemployment among young persons be curbed?
Experts say, equipping young persons with the right digital and in-demand skills, would prepare and get them fit for the future of work.
In a statement put on the United Nations website, the Secretary General of the UN agency, António Guterres, while commemorating this year’s World Youth Skills Day, said “Equipping young people with quality education, training and skills is essential. We are reminded that teachers stand at the forefront of this great global effort.
“In every corner of the world, young people face a whirlwind of change — technological advancements, a rapidly changing job market, demographic shifts, climate challenges, and learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We must ensure that teachers gain the education and professional development opportunities they need as they help young people make the transition from school to the workplace. I recently launched the High-Level Panel on the Teaching Profession to provide recommendations to help achieve this.
“And we need to dramatically scale up investment in education and training systems and technologies worldwide so teachers can provide inclusive and flexible learning opportunities for young people no matter where they live.
“Humanity’s future depends on the boundless energy, ideas and contributions of young people. On this day and every day, let’s stand with teachers as they, in turn, help young people gain the education and skills required to shape a better, more sustainable future for us all.”
Leveraging digital skills
Digital learning that is been harnessed by young people in Nigeria is the ‘Youth Agency Market Place, YOMA. According to the Programme Specialist for UNICEF, Joannes Yimbesalu, YOMA as a digital platform was created by young people which allows them to build and transform their futures.
Yimbesalu in an interview revealed that 87 per cent of Yoma users globally are Nigerian youth adding that, the digital platform gives them the opportunity to participate in learning, skilling, and social impact task and as they engage with these opportunities, they earn tokens which they can use to redeem on the Yoma marketplace for data and airtime as well as access to premium courses.
He stated that UNICEF is partnering with the government and private sector to give young people the capacity to build and transform their futures and be productive citizens
The Programme Specialist for UNICEF adds that “We are passionate about young people and giving them the platform across Africa to be employable and the key thing is promoting opportunities for these people.
“We need to create this awareness more to promote the opportunity including in the rural communities, to enable them to be aware and access the opportunities for employment.
“One of the key things is about targeting the most marginalized, and the focus is working with key stakeholders and the media to ensure that no child is left behind,” he added.
Speaking, on the overview of “Youth Employment, Skilling, and Upskilling in Nigeria”, the Head of Communications, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, LSETF, Taiye Tunkarimu, said that the agency also engaged in digital grassroots programmes to create wealth, especially for the youth.
According to her, “We have done a digital grassroots programme with UNICEF, and we were able to train market people on how they can use the digital platform to promote their business, make gain and expand their customer base.
“We enable job and wealth creation in Lagos State through access to finance, access to infrastructure, vocational skills training, access to market as well as business support.
“UNICEF is our partner and we have done a couple of training and engagements with them, including the digital literacy programme to train people at the grassroots.
“The training was on WhatsApp business after which they were empowered with phones to promote their business and enhance their customer relations, all of this we did with UNICEF support.”
The Lagos state director, for National Orientation Agency, Adetola Adeboyega, said that these digital platforms provide an avenue for the state youths to be technically inclined.
She said “These days, certificates cannot take young graduates far if they do not have employable in-demand skills. I would advise our youths to be technically and digitally inclined. Before now, one can easily get a job once one graduated from a higher institution. But things are different as everything has gone digital and technical, so there is a need for young people to improve themselves and be skilled to excel in the workplace. Also, young people need to know how to use their hands, in order to be able to be financially stable”
In catching the young ones early, the Lagos state government in partnership with UNICEF is equipping primary and secondary schools with ICT gadgets, says the Director, Policy, Planning, Research and Statistics, Ministry of Education Dr Adejare Afolabi.
Afolabi added that “We have about 2000 schools and you would agree with me, it would require a lot of funds to be able to cater for every child with the ICT gadgets. However, every teacher in our primary school has a tablet to teach and that is a plus for the government. In secondary schools, it is the same. They have personal laptops they use and are accompanied by ICT labs for their learning purpose. We are not only focused on urban communities.”