The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) has unveiled plans to commence mentorship and employability programmes in six universities across the country to enhance undergraduates’ skills and upscale their opportunities.
Director-General of the association, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, who disclosed this during a chat with journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, said that the universities that will provide the trainings would span the six geopolitical zones in the country.
According to him, the move has become imperative in order to address Nigeria’s rising unemployment rate.
He said: “We will be starting the programme toward the end of this year or early next year in six universities across the geopolitical zones. We will be focusing on enhancing the employability potential of an average Nigerian youth. After the programmes, the participants will not only be able to compete locally but also globally.”
Oyerinde also said NECA would develop credible policy options for the government to consider regarding creating jobs for the country’s teeming unemployed youth.
It would be recalled that at the recently held 2024 Job Fair in Lagos, the director-general said it was part of a series of activities under the NECA’s employability scheme to support the government in creating jobs for the youth.
He clarified: “We try to help graduates and the youth generally to enhance their skills, upscale themselves and create opportunities for them. So, the job fair was about the fourth in the series, and we focused on green jobs and renewable energy.
“The International Labour Organisation has affirmed that there are over 20 million jobs in the green economy and renewable energy that are untapped. So our decision is to go this route and expose Nigerian youths to those opportunities, draw the government’s attention to it, and focus on creating jobs for the youth”, Oyerinde added.
The NECA boss said the association was taking actions through various collaborations to support governments’ efforts targeted at addressing the country’s unemployment problem.
