Youth unemployment is becoming a menace in Nigeria, as about 53.40 per cent of Nigerian youths are unemployed according to youth unemployment rates released by the National Bureau of Statistics in 2022.
In Lagos state, for instance, the state’s population is estimated at approximately 25 million, of which 60 per cent are young people. Yet, the state unemployment rate is estimated at 37.14 per cent, which is higher than the national average of 33.3 per cent.
The head of communication, Stakeholders’ management and promotion, at Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Taiye Tunkarimu told LEADERSHIP WEEKEND that Lagos state has a sowing population with an annual population growth rate of three per cent to five per cent and 85 immigrants per hour.
Job Opportunities for Youths
Meanwhile, stakeholders at a youth training programme on the Role of Digital Learning Platforms in accelerating learning and employment opportunities for young people organized by the National Orientation Agency (NOA)in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), revealed that there are several platforms the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), the Nigerian learning Passport (NLP) and U-Report and many others that provide job opportunities for the Nigerian youths.
For instance, Tech4Dev is a non-profit social enterprise that creates access to decent work and entrepreneurship opportunities through digital skills empowerment and advocacy.
So far, the senior programme manager, Tech4Dev, Abraham Akpan revealed that, over 1,000 youths have been facilitated to suitable jobs, adding that Tech4Dev prepares people for the future of work by creating opportunities for decent work through technology-based training, which includes coding skills.
Nigerian youths can also access the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA), a digital platform that helps to build and transform the future of young people, the UNICEF programme specialist, Joannes Yimbesalu disclosed, adding that, the platform allows young Nigerians to access learning, skilling and social impact opportunities thereby equipping them with the right skills, tools and capacity to become employable.
“The platform was co-created by young people for young people in Africa. Right now, we have close to 200,000 users globally with Nigeria accounting for about 87 per cent of the total users. We work closely with agencies like the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), so that fresh graduates can get used to the YOMA platform and make use of the opportunities it provides,” Yimbesalu explained.
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.
To secure financial freedom for youths in Lagos state, Tunkarimu revealed that in 2016, the state government sets up LSETF, an agency saddled with reducing the unemployment rate in the state by creating an enabling environment for job and wealth creation.
“The agency’s mandate is to enable job creation through strategic pillars, including support for Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs), which account for more than 84 per cent of total jobs in the country and accounted for an estimated 48.5 per cent of the gross domestic product.
“We are also collaborating with the private sector to train youths to fill areas where there is a dearth of skills; provide access to infrastructure, mentorship and talent to the tech sector and arms businesses with the necessary capacity and information to empower them for growth,” she disclosed.
Challenges
The major challenge LSETF is facing is that a lot of Nigerian youths do not have the skills required in the job market, Tunkarimu averred, adding that, there are requirements for accessing funds or qualifying for training.
For instance, the requirements for loans include; documentation such as tax identity, Lagos State Residents Registration Agency (LASRRA) identity, and bank statements, among others.
“We found out that most of the businesses, especially those that are at the grassroots level, do not have these documents, which has made them not to be able to access the fund, that is provided with one digit interest rate,” Tunkarimu stated.
Addressing these issues, the head of communication, averred that, the agency, from time to time, embarked on sensitization campaigns at marketplaces and hard-to-reach communities to educate residents of Lagos, on the need to get these documents ready, to be able to assess the funds available for them.
Impact
Despite the limitations, the head of communication, LSETF, disclosed that, the agency has been able to create over 195,000 direct and indirect jobs; saved over 178,350 direct and indirect jobs; supported 71,775 small businesses and 439 technology Startups and trained over 16,000 young persons.
Advice to Nigerian youths
The director, NOA, Lagos state, Adetola Adegboyega, however, urged youths to make good use of these platforms to upscale their skills digitally.
“Youths have to be technically inclined because certificates cannot take them far. I would advise our youths to be technically and digitally inclined. Before now, one can easily get a job after graduation. But right now, things are different because everything has gone digital and technical, hence the need for them to improve themselves by upscaling their skills for better opportunities. They also need to know how to use their hands, to be financially stable,” Adegboyega advised.
Young people should continue to learn and upscale their skills and these platforms are there for them to make use of, Yimbesalu advised, adding that, ‘Young people need to create time and sacrifice to keep learning.’
