Unemployment is gradually becoming the order of the day in Nigeria as a result of the quest for white collar jobs. There are over ten million unemployed graduates roaming the streets, prone to crime almost hopeless. This demographic finding portends challenges and opportunities. The challenges are economic and social, both are highly connected. The interactive session and motivational seminars that attract thousands of participants annually, cannot solve the teeming problem of illiteracy, despair and unemployment faced by the average Nigerian youth.
It is also a known truth that seminars in Nigeria have become abused, over-circulated and tiring. While the presentation content delivered by our guest speakers are top notch laced with valid illustration using true life stories of other Nigerians who have risen above obstacles in our environment to inspire, challenge and realign the thoughts and aspirations of the participants with life’s purpose, it may achieve some temporary result emanating from passion and motivation but the question then becomes, after that one day seminar, What’s next?
In today’s world, to get a job to access opportunities, KNOWLEDGE IS NOT ENOUGH SKILL IS THE KING. There is no issue that should be addressed as a matter of urgent national importance towards development other than that of skill acquisition, considering the current failure of our basic education to yield the expected positive results. This has led great consequences such as armed robbery, militancy, kidnapping and a host of others.
Each year, only 40,000 out of the 400,000 Nigerians graduates who passed out of NYSC scheme get jobs. Furthermore, only 20percent of 40,000 graduate who get employed are in a desired place of work. These are clear indications that the employment capacity of the country is inversely proportional to available job seekers. The employing capacities of multi-nationals (which are the dreams of young job seeking graduates) that service millions of Nigerians are relatively low.
How do we as a nation, seeking a future for their great country of ours, tackle the challenges of astronomic rate of unemployment being faced by the youth? How can our youths grow from more jobs seekers to flourishing entrepreneurs? The answer is not far-fetched KNOWLEDGE IS NOT ENOUGH SKILL IS THE KING. Nations like china, India, japan, North Korea, have massively invested in human capacity development which has led to tremendous economic growth in their various nation for instance, china is known to be the world’s fastest growing major economy, the largest exporter of goods and largest manufacturing economy in the world. This feet was achieved due to the introduction of vocational skills to cater for the ever growing population which is set at above 1billion people. Furthermore, it is a known fact that people who have vocational skills earn more.
