YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT in Nigeria is a serious challenge that has landed the country in some of the grave societal issues it is experiencing today.
Successive administrations since the beginning of the fourth republic have promised to address and adopt job creation as a foundation for pulling many Nigerians out of poverty, and as a pillar of their economic policy.
Unfortunately, their campaign promises have remained just that: mere campaign promises.
With over 1.8 million Nigerians entering the labour market annually from 170 universities and 170 polytechnics, the number of unemployed graduates has continued to surge incredibly.
Many graduates with high hopes and many dreams of building careers had had their hopes and careers shattered as job and business opportunities ran lean.
Seeking ways of how the unemployment scourge can be addressed.
The ICIR interviewed human resource experts on steps that can be taken to bridge the unemployment gap, especially as it affects graduates.
As an unemployed graduate who wants to kick-start his career in 2023, here are the four things that sweep potential employers off their feet:
1) Prepare an Error-free curriculum vitae
As a young graduate intending to secure a job in an organization, your curriculum vitae is your image maker that speaks to a potential employer.
Reacting to the curriculum vitae issue, the Human Resource Manager, the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (The ICIR), Uju Ogo, said that a good CV must be simple, concise and detailed to easily enlighten your prospective employer on your ability, competence, certifications and experience.
Ogo stated a CV must also be straightforward and error-free to portray a good image before potential employers.
“As a recent graduate, you have to make your CV as clear and straightforward as possible, because before even you get an interview with any organization, the first thing the Hiring Manager sees is your curriculum vitae.
“Basically, you have to make sure it is free of spelling errors, even if you don’t have experience. Make sure your CV is as clear as possible,” she said.
2) Get Professional Certifications and Learn Soft Skills
There is no doubt that obtaining more certifications can provide you with a professional boost, although it comes with a hefty price tag.
Soft skills, on the other hand, are abstract skills that empower unemployed graduates to collaborate and work together in order to collectively meet company objectives, improve efficiency and heighten productivity.
Labour force participation shows that 87.7 per cent of workers have professional certifications and skills, which means that a substantially higher number of such people are employed.
The Managing Director of Dexter and Heroes Consulting Limited, Ome Amadi, emphasized the need for unemployed graduates to learn the soft skills that can help build strong relationships, problem-solving abilities and efficient operations.
Amadi said that soft skills are needed to improve leadership, enhance employers’ satisfaction, manage workplace communication and increase office productivity.
“A lot of young graduates lack communication skills, computer literacy skills, problem-solving skills, management skills, analytical skills, project management skills, interpersonal skills, website management-HTML, WordPress, Photoshop and technical skills, which are needed in everyday life.”
“Self-development is very important, and these skills are needed by employers. These cannot be overemphasised. A graduate who needs a job should learn any of these skills. But the problem is that most people are unwilling,” he added.
Amadi charged unemployed graduates to utilize opportunities created by free academic websites such as Udemy, Coursera and Allison to learn highly demanding and competitive free certifications.
3) Access All Opportunities
For the vast majority of the unemployed, the ultimate purpose of accessing opportunity is to secure a desirable job that will launch them into a successful career. Searching for opportunities may be tasking and cumbersome, but achievable.
Reacting to the need for unemployed graduates to access opportunities, the Coordinator, Sultan Maccido Institute for Peace, Leadership, Development and Security Studies, University of Abuja, Dr. Odogwu Celestine, advised them to access all relevant and useful career opportunities.
According to him, “unemployed youths needs to be creative about how they access opportunities despite the poor economic challenges and difficulties in Nigeria.
“The government is not creating job opportunities and there is virtually no job anywhere. So, unemployed graduates should skilfully access all available opportunities either through internship, volunteering or any entrepreneurial skill.”
4) Position and Network Upwards
Unemployed graduates who network with people that have more edge to advance in social and professional circles will be helping themselves a lot. Positioning is very important in the search for employment opportunities, especially on social media pages and platforms. Utilizing the benefits of social media is very important.
An unemployed graduate and job seeker can put up a decent profile complete with picture on LinkedIn and send requests to prospective employers.
A good example is leveraging on LinkedIn to access opportunities and connect with people, especially professionals who will be helpful in pointing out leads.
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