The federal government has disclosed that its is planning to launch a labour statistics system where unemployed Nigerians at home and abroad could apply for available jobs.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige who made this known to journalists in Abuja, said the move was part of efforts to tackle the high rate of unemployment in Nigeria.
Last year, the ministry established a labour exchange system for merging and cross-matching labour supply and demand in the country.
According to the minister, the system will be officially launched in the next one or two month at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Speaking further, Ngige said his ministry has gotten involved in some international projects with foreign partners, which Nigeria has not hitherto been doing, adding that for the first time, the American Government was putting up a grant for women and children in Nigeria and Liberia.
He said, “But over time that we have been here, it is not funded. You don’t also blame them. Everybody wants to build bridges and airports and go. But they forget that with labour statistics and matching, you can fight unemployment. With that you know who is where at any given time. And people abroad, especially those with specialties, who want to come back, can enter that system to know where to apply to for jobs.
In our electronic labour exchange system, both people who are looking for work and recruiters can enter the system where we merge and match them. We do what is called cross matching and people are gainfully employed. ployment”.
