HOW TO WIN UNEMPLOYED IN NIGERIA  

One issue that has attracted global attention in the 21st century is the problem of unemployment and job creation. This problem has propelled Nigeria and several other African countries to embark on economic reforms with the believe that such an exercise will correct the structural rigidities and bottlenecks in the system. The correction shall then put their economies on a sound footing and create employment opportunities for the unemployed persons. 

In Nigeria, it is expected that the Universal Basic Education(UBE) and the increasing growth of private sector in the provision of education and skill training, use of public works in construction of roads and other public infrastructure, especially by State and Local Governments, micro-credit and concessional credit to provide start-up capital for new businesses are some veritable strategies. These strategies are supported by several opportunities of employment generation by the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS). The principles of NEEDS are accepted and replicated by the 36 States and FCT, Abuja as State Economic Empowerment and Development (SEEDS) and the 774 LGAs in Nigeria as  Local Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (LEEDS). It is our hope that these principles strategy will come to fruition as they are capable of ameliorating the problem of unemployment among the youths and other categories of unemployed persons.

We wish to point out that the socio-economic situation of young people differs widely from country to country. It is also pertinent to note that there are important similarities. One common characteristics among youths is the drive to be integrated into the society, and an important measure of that integration is the world of work. Unfortunately, the jobs for gainful employment are not there, and this paper has analysed the strategies and opportunities available for the unemployed youths in Nigeria. The paper further unraveled the programmes and activities of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), and how unemployed persons should avail themselves with the opportunities in order to turn unemployment to employment and job creation.

ANALYSIS OF THE STATE OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA AND THE WORLD 

Since early 1970s, youth unemployment in industrialized market economies has become a much greater problem for all categories and not just for the high-risk groups at the Nigerian society. This group include: educationally disadvantaged migrants, ethnic minorities, disabled youths and young women. Unemployment has increased and the periods of unemployment  itself has become longer.

The beginning of the current youth unemployment problem in industrialized market economies can be traced to the general slowdown of demand and economic activities in the mid-1970s. The situation was aggravated by the 1973 crude oil shock and the subsequent slide into a global recession. The situation was aggravated by demographic factors such as the entry into labour market of substantial number of “baby boom” children. 

According to statistics by the Global Employment Trend for Youths in 2004, youths of 15-24 years old make up 25 percent of working age population. This group also constitutes 47 percent of the total 186 million people that were out of work in the world in 2003. A Report on the State of Youth Employment in 2002 reveals that between 47–51 percent in the World, and 64.61 percent of Nigerian youths were unemployed during this period. This included the primary, secondary and to some extent, tertiary education graduates who had received enough theoretical education to alter their aspirations and values, but not enough practical education and training to provide them with marketable skills.

The World Bank has projected that by 2025, 48 percent of young people that are between the ages of 15 and 24 in developing countries like Nigeria will be unemployed. This would make people interpret the already chronic problem of youth unemployment in terms of a need to expand the capacity of labour markets to absorb more new entrants into productive employment. No doubt, the ability of labour market to respond to the employment needs of youths will remain a key issue in Nigeria, even in the next century.

In Nigeria, unemployment was not a major concern before the oil crisis in 1973. E.R. Fapohunda (1982) has examined the effects of the oil crisis in 1973 on unemployment situations and concluded that Nigerian socio-political planners believe that high levels of employment would automatically flow from a high rate of economic growth. Thus, the planners did not explicitly include in the First and Second National Development Plans/Programmes in 1960 and 1970 specifically designed activities to generate high levels of employment.

Be that as it may, following the economic recession of the 1980s, it became apparent that the days of automatic “white-collar” jobs immediately after the University education had disappeared un-ceremoniously. As Muhtar (2001) observes, in the past two decades of our independence, the labour market opportunities facing each tertiary graduates were wide and varied. At that time, it was customary that each graduate had at least three jobs to choose from prior to convocation. Thus, the movement from school-to-job was virtually automatic. Unfortunately, this easy connection between the world of learning and the world of work is now an history.

Ekpo, et al (2004) have taken time to analyze the implications of unemployment in Nigeria. They concluded that, “there is evidence of malfunctioning of the labour market”. While there is shortage of persons with skills strategic for development, there is also unemployment and under-utilisation of available human resources.

The economic environment today is a far cry from what it was some years ago. The evolution is as fast as that and the pace is even getting faster by the day. The era of reliance on paid employment is gone. The state of the economy today shows that self-employment is the immediate answer.

As earlier stated, the objectives of this paper are to examine NDE employment strategies and its contributions to the socio-political and economic development of Akwa Ibom State, in particular, and Nigeria, in general. We shall now turn to the activities of NDE.

THE ACTIVITIES OF NATIONAL DIRECTORATE OF EMPLOYMENT 

By the end of 1985, the unemployment situation in Nigeria had reached desperate and alarming proportions. With growing joblessness there was growing despondency among youths. The Federal Government became worried, and constituted a Committee in March 1986 to  study and recommend appropriate strategies for dealing with mass unemployment under the auspices of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity. Based on the Committee's recommendations, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) was established on November 22, 1986. The initial core programmes of NDE were launched on 30th January, 1987. The creation of the NDE was Federal Government's antidote to redress the crisis situation, and give it a legal status; and Decree No. 24 of 1989 was then promulgated.

NDE's Job Generation Strategies

The NDE uses training as its main strategy for job creation. This is to ensure that both quality and quantity of jobs are enhanced for greater national development. Thus, the realization that the majority of unemployed youths are school leavers who lack productive and marketable skills for gainful employment guided the framework of NDE. By the framework, unemployed Nigerians are given orientation to compete favourably with the identified components of globalisation contained in the Draft Report of the Committee on Human Resources Training and Development of International Labour Conference in its 28th Session in Geneva in 2004.

The NDE has successfully performed its statutory functions through four cardinal programmes, namely:

· Vocational Skills Development Programme,

· Rural Employment Promotion Programme,

· Special Public Works Programmes, and

· Small Scale Enterprises Development Programme.

Each of these programmes are geared towards the recruitment, training and empowerment of unemployed Nigerians, thereby making them not only self-employed but also employers of labour. We shall now discuss each of the above programmes.

1) Vocational Skills Development Programme

This programme emanated from the realisation that the majority of unemployed youths are those who possess little or no marketable skills. It was, therefore, designed to provide vocational skills training to school leavers and other unemployed youths. Within this programme, the following schemes are enunciated and implemented:

(a) National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS)

This scheme is designed to provide skills to the bulk of unemployed youths who have no marketable skills at all, and are not easily employable. Through this scheme, unemployed youths are trained in various skills, such as, mechanics, auto electrical, catering, welding, printing, metal/aluminum fabrication, GSM repairs, etc. While the period of training ranges from 3 months to 2 years, depending on the trade, the qualification of trainees ranges from elementary six to University degree.

In the execution of the scheme, trainees are attached to public or private training centres with adequate facilities. The trainer is paid the sum of One Thousand Naira (N1,000.00) per trainee while the trainee received the sum of Five Hundred Naira(N500.00) per month. In order to enhance the depth of knowledge of the trainees in their respective trades, the curriculum of the course include some aspects of theories that are coordinated by experienced instructors for them every Saturday. In Akwa Ibom State, more than 20,000 youths have benefited from the scheme.

(b) School-On-Wheels Scheme

The school-on-wheels scheme is designed to provide training opportunities for youths in the rural areas to complement NOAS training in the urban areas. The scheme involves taking adequately equipped mobile caravans to rural areas where training facilities are either inadequate or non-existent. The training programme covers a period of three (3) months after which the graduates are absorbed into the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme for the perfecting of the various skills acquired. One major advantage of this scheme is that it discourages rural-urban migration.

(c) Resettlement Loans Scheme

This scheme is designed to assist graduates of the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme(NOAS) who lack the initial capital to start their own businesses. The successful beneficiaries normally receive loan packages made up of equipment on payment of 10 percent of the total cost of the equipment. A total of 233 persons has so far benefited from the scheme in Akwa Ibom State.

2) Rural Employment Promotion Programme (REPP)

The Rural Employment Promotion Programme of the Directorate is designed and implemented to encourage unemployed graduates and non-graduates, and retirees from public or civil service to engage in agricultural production and marketing. This objective has been vigorously pursued in the State through the following schemes:

(a) Rural Agricultural Development Training Scheme

This scheme is designed to train rural youths in modern agricultural techniques. The training period usually lasts for three(3) months. The first one month is for lectures and practical work while the remaining two months are for field attachment; meant to expose the trainee to life scenarios under the guidance of selected indigenous entrepreneurs that are actually engaged in agro-allied businesses.

(b) Rural Handicraft Scheme

The Rural Handicraft Scheme involves the recruitment and placement of unemployed persons with Master trainers to learn trades, such as arts and crafts, using locally sourced materials such as raffia. The training period is three months. A total of 1,610 unemployed persons has so far benefited from the Rural Employment Promotion Programme in the State.

3) Special Public Works Programme (SPWP)

The Special Public Works Programme is designed to provide short-term employment to unemployed youths with the main objective of utilising their productive manpower in executing some public projects using labour intensive techniques. Schemes under the Special Public Works Department include Environmental Beautification, Water Trucking, Environmental Sanitation, Graduate Attachment Programme and Community Development Schemes. The activities of Special Public Works Programme covers the following areas:

- Rehabilitation and maintenance of rural roads,

- Environmental beautification and sanitation,

- Renovation of public buildings, and

- Environmental protection works, such as erosion and flood control, drainage works, etc.

A total of 1,871 persons have benefited from the programme, and there are about 108 projects owned by 40 organisations in the State.

4) Small Scale Enterprises Development Programme (SSEDP)

This programme is packaged to promote self-employment among job seekers, including retirees. It inculcates in the trainee the spirit of enterprise creation and self-reliance, rather than dependence on public and private sector jobs that are not available. The beneficiaries of the programme are normally assisted and encouraged to set up their own businesses through the provision of requisite training organised by the Directorate. The training guides the participants through laid down steps in starting a small scale, including the preparation of a bankable feasibility report for the proposed business.

It is pertinent to state that the NDE Management recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Nigerian Agricultural Co-operatives and Rural Development Bank (NACRDB), which now provides credit facilities to the NDE beneficiaries on ascertaining the viability of their projects. We wish to state that a total of 446 persons have so far benefited from the programme.

(a) Women Employment Branch (WEB)

This unit, which is under the Small Scale Enterprises Programme, is concerned about women employment. It reaches out to women through women co-operatives. The women undergo entrepreneurship training under the auspices of their co-operatives and upon completion of the training, the cooperatives can access loan facilities from the NACRDB after submitting acceptable feasibility reports to the Bank for evaluation.

(b) Job Centre

The Job Centre within SSEDP is the gateway to NDE programmes. It is a Job Guidance and Counselling Unit in the Directorate. Counselling services are provided for unemployed persons on how to seek for employment opportunities in both public and private sectors. To be able to effectively execute this assignment, all the unemployed persons are to register with the Centre for placement.

CONCLUSION

The NDE has impacted positively on many lives in Akwa Ibom State and is still ready to do more as we bridge the communication gap between employers and unemployed persons. This is important because most of the 2,800 unemployed persons here have not come to our Office for our free services. We wish to stress this point because most of the applicants here today know little or nothing about NDE. It is our sincere desire to partner with the Applicant Welfare and National Development Centre to make this Forum an annual national event.