The National Directorate of Employment (NDE), said it has engaged 1, 900 graduate through its Graduate Attachment Programme (GAP) across 35 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
In a statement made available to journalists in Abuja yesterday by the directorate head of department, information and public relations, Israel Adekitan, 50 graduate from each state and the FCT were selected to aquire requisite skills for transient jobs.
The director-general of NDE, Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo, in the statement noted that the GAP was designed as part of NDE’s mandate to address the alarming level of graduate unemployment owing to skills mismatch.
Under the programme participants were attached to corporate organisations for a period between three and six months where they develop specific skills on the job experience and will enjoy N20,000 monthly stipend while the organisations they serve is expected to complement the efforts of the federal government.
The DG also said unemployed graduates who wish to benefit from the programme must have completed the mandatory one year National Youth service Corps (NYSC).
Fikpo said that the desired result of participating in GAP by young unemployed graduates was to confer a competitive edge where experience is required for full employment and prepares them for better job opportunities and self-employment.
He said, “Today’s global economy is complex, to compete effectively, Nigerian youths, especially the unemployed, needs technical and vocational skills that will produce a flexible workforce that can adjust to rapid shift in demand.
It is instructive to know that demand for job specific skills has been growing around the world, globally, firms are saying that the quality and supply of skilled labour is a major roadblock to their growth, the challenges of skills mismatch is global”.
According to Adekitan, a total of 21,688 direct and indirect jobs were created for the graduates of higher learning through GAP i 2021.
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