Nigeria’s youth unemployment rises to 6.5% – ILO’s

–As Informal Employment Dominates astatine 93%

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

ABUJA —THE International Labour Organization, ILO, connected Tuesday said contempt caller improvements successful the nationalist unemployment complaint which was 4.3 per cent, down from 5.4 per cent successful 2023, Youth unemployment has risen to 6.5 per cent.

Director, ILO Country Office for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Liaison Office for ECOWAS, Vanessa Phala, who revealed these statistic portion speaking astatine the Multi-Stakeholder National Public Dialogue for Institutionalizing Technical Vocational Education and Training, TVET and apprenticeship systems for sustainable employment and employability successful Nigeria.

ILO, successful the demographic probe besides stated that the unemployment complaint of men successful the state stood astatine 5.4 percent portion women was 7.8 percent.

Phala, represented by Mrs Chinyere Emeka-Anuna, Senior Programme Officer, ILO, said the inbalance successful the satellite of enactment were arsenic a effect of overqualification, underqualification, and employment successful unrelated fields.

She besides said this necessitated a collaborative store with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to span immoderate of the observed gaps.

According to Phala, the nationalist dialog is facilitated wrong the model of Strengthening Employment and Employability Systems successful Nigeria, SEESIN, task supported by GIZ-SKYE II Programme and comes astatine a important time.

She explained that it offers an accidental to analyse however the TVET and apprenticeship systems tin amended service the needs of a dynamic labour market.

The ILO Director said, “SEESIN is contributing to improving Nigeria’s labour marketplace by strengthening the effectiveness of nationalist employment governance frameworks, addressing skills mismatches, expanding entree to prime services, and creating inclusive opportunities for youth, women, and different marginalized groups to thrive successful a changing satellite of work.

“This National Dialogue underscores the ILO’s unwavering committedness to advancing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and apprenticeship systems arsenic a operator of sustainable employment and inclusive growth. Guided by the ILO’s Quality Apprenticeships Recommendation, 2023 (No. 208).

“We are supporting Nigeria successful gathering apprenticeship systems that are well-regulated, inclusive, and responsive to labour marketplace needs.

“Through societal dialog and tripartite collaboration, we purpose to heighten prime assurance, certification, sex equality and inclusion, and the designation of informal apprenticeships, ensuring that all, particularly young people, women, and persons with disabilities summation the skills, opportunities, and extortion needed to entree decent enactment and lend meaningfully to nationalist development.

“In mounting the discourse for this Dialogue, Nigeria’s labour marketplace continues to grapple with persistent skills mismatch, wherever occupation seekers clasp qualifications that bash not correspond to the requirements of employers.

“Many graduates person theoretical cognition but deficiency applicable manufacture related competencies, resulting successful overqualification, underqualification, and employment successful unrelated fields.

“The country’s apprenticeship and vocational systems stay underdeveloped, contributing to shortages of method skills successful high-growth sectors portion producing surpluses successful low-demand fields.

“Despite caller improvements successful the nationalist unemployment complaint which was 4.3 per cent, down from 5.4 per cent successful 2023, Youth unemployment remained elevated astatine 6.5 per cent (men: 5.4 per cent, women: 7.8 per cent), informal employment dominates astatine 93 per cent, and women, youth, and persons with disabilities are disproportionately excluded from decent work.

“Institutionalizing Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), and apprenticeship, is simply a strategical concern successful Nigeria’s future. By equipping younker with applicable skills, we fortify employability and thrust inclusive economical growth.

“This attack not lone bridges the spread betwixt acquisition and manufacture but besides reduces unemployment, and positions Nigeria to vie successful a rapidly evolving planetary economy”.

Meanwhile, Director, Skills Development and Certification Department astatine the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Engr. Tiza Chiila Shaakaa, noted that the renewed anticipation Agenda of the contiguous Administration is expected to beryllium anchored heavy connected a workforce that is required to beryllium competent, innovative, and adaptive.

He reiterated that information from nationalist labour surveys uncover that galore of our youths stay unemployed oregon underemployed, not due to the fact that of deficiency of amb...