Alarmed by the high level of graduate unemployment in the country, NEPAD Business Group Nigeria (NBGN) initiated in the last quarter of 2014, a training programme for the youths, tagged the NBGN Graduates’ Employability Improvement & Development Initiative (GEIDI). This is also in furtherance of its objective of jobs and wealth creation for poverty alleviation.
Unveiling the programme at a press conference in Lagos, the NBGN Chairman, Chief Chris Ezeh explained that it was intended to equip Nigerian graduates with both technical and entrepreneurial skills “to address the observed mismatch in graduate training and those skills required in modern workplace for enhanced employability and self-reliability.” Unemployment of youths posed a great challenge to the economy and the eventual growth of the nation, NBGN therefore had no choice but to partner with Government in assisting to find a solution to the scourge of youth unemployment and its associated vices.
The NBGN GEIDI adopts a holistic approach to solve the problem of unemployment among our youths. We studied other similar efforts in the past for input and lessons to prevent failures. Most efforts in the past were concerned with the training of the unemployed youths thereby leaving them in a worse state after the training. The GEIDI is different as it encompasses the vocational and entrepreneurial training, facilitation of the setting up of the graduated trainees as well as monitoring and evaluation of the young entrepreneurs in their businesses in the first 6 months or 1 year to assist in solving the usual business teething problems.
In this regard, NBGN partners with three major organizations: the Nigeria Opportunities Industrialization Centers (NOIC), Bank of Industry Limited (BOI), and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN). NOIC is responsible for the vocational/technical training, SMEDAN, training in the development of entrepreneurial skills, and BOI, will support qualified graduates of the scheme with suitable facilities to set up in their chosen vocations.
GEIDI is a six months programme designed to be a yearly event. The maiden edition of the scheme commenced in September, 2014 with 50 trainees drawn from all over the federation, and will run till March, 2015. Courses being offered include Refrigeration & Air Conditioning, Computer hardware Maintenance, Hotel & Catering Management, Electrical Installation, Automotive Mechanics as well as Painting & House Decoration. The Opening Ceremony equally held on Friday 19 September, 2014, at the NOIC Complex, Gbagada, Lagos.
Our main challenges confronting the initiative to be lack of adequate financial and technical support. NBGN initially set out to support the trainees with stipends to offset parts of their logistics. This couldn’t be achieved in the maiden edition due to financial related constraints. We equally need more companies to collaborate with us regarding openings for the trainees to undergo the On the Job training (OJT) aspect of the training.
We therefore appeal to individuals, organizations (government and non-government), Business Members Associations (MBOs), the Organized Private Sector, NGOs and other developmental partners to support NBGN in this laudable effort to reduce the scourge of unemployment and its socio-economic consequences. This will enable us to achieve the dream of making the project bigger and more impactful in the subsequent editions. Tackling unemployment, especially among our teeming youths is a war we must all join to secure the future of our dear nation.