Skill Acquisition, an Alternative Remedy to Unemployment among Nigerian Youths

Africa as a continent is not doing enough when it comes to youth empowerment. Nigeria being the giant of Africa is the prime example of this failure, especially in terms of providing them with gainful employment. 

Disheartening as it may be, it has now become a reality that one could go through nearly 15 years of the education process, graduate from a tertiary institution, and despite their attractive qualifications, remain jobless. And why is this so? Well, there simply aren’t enough jobs, and the very few ones that exist, are quickly being filled by those with “connections”.

Another cause of joblessness among Nigerian youths is the poor state of our country’s education system. Employers are after certificates and qualifications, but it is almost impossible to gain any useful certifications as a Nigerian undergraduate. The schools teach outdated curriculums, and the grading systems are so rigged that many students stop putting any real effort in their academics by their second year in university.

After convocation, youths are being thrust into a job market where employers are requiring that they apply for work with four or five years’ experience. For a fresh graduate from our hellish universities, that is just unworkable. Hence, many youths are left to roam the streets, jobless.

Results of Unemployment among Nigerian Youths

Frustration begins to set in, then desperation. And we can’t blame them too much. The stage they are is a period of youthful exuberance and energy. A time when they should be doing something that keeps them engaged with pay. But if there’s no work, they’re forced to sit in a spot. And youths hate staying in a spot, the fountain of energy inside them and the primal need to use that energy won’t allow it. So they begin to try things, and too often, the wrong things.

Drug-trafficking, gambling, prostitution, armed robbery and internet fraud are just some of the gory things that our youths dabble into, just so they can get by. Even more horrid, are the sect of young adults, who convince themselves that using another human life for money rituals, is a way towards acquiring wealth.

But these criminals are just a part of a suffering whole.

What is the Alternative to Youth Unemployment?

Many other youths, due to financial constraints, are unable to attain formal education, and are forced to accept that their path might not be through the four walls of a classroom. Others, learn this lesson a little later while in university, egged on by difficulties with feeding on the meagre pocket money their parents are able to give them.

Either way, these youths follow a very viable alternative; skill acquisition.

The Nigerian society has made it repeatedly clear to all of us, that your certificate could mean nothing in the job market. Therefore, it is a wise line of action for anyone to take, by learning multiple marketable skills.

We are certainly headed for times when working multiple jobs would be unavoidable for some people. Couple that stress with manipulative, impossible-to-please bosses in corporate offices, and you have more and more people pulling out of the job market. And that would highly increase the unemployment rate in the country.

What Skills are Available to Nigerian Youths?

Since the availability of 9-5s is now dwindling quickly, learning a marketable skill through repeated practice, is certainly a huge step in the right direction.

The good thing about these skills, is that most of them are related to talents that the learners might already possess without even knowing. For example, a skill like tailoring, would be easy for someone who already had prior interest in becoming a seamstress. And photography would come naturally to someone who has an eye for aesthetics, and details. Other talent-related skills include catering, baking, interior decoration, hair and make-up styling, shoe-making and barbing amongst many others. While some of them might be looked down upon by an unemployed “educated elite", these skills actually fetch good money for those who practice them at a high level. And because of their flexible nature, vocational practitioners are able to dabble into more than one skill at a time, in some cases even doing them while holding down paid employment.

Our country’s abysmal economic situation has made working online and earning in foreign currency to hold the most allure for most of our youths. So a lot of young people are jumping into the freelancing space to offer skills like graphic design, affiliate marketing, web design and hosting, etc.

Online work isn’t such a bad idea in itself, the trouble just comes when the field becomes oversaturated, and the whole physical unemployment scenario begins to replay itself. Also, certain groups are taking advantage of this newfound interest in online work, and using it to exploit our youth. They claim to offer free freelance work training, but require that members sign a document that essentially puts them in charge of members’ money. So once you decide to leave, they force you to leave behind everything you’ve bought with the money you’ve made from working with them. All these points to the perks that comes with the situation of a Nigerian youth around employment opportunities

Why NBYF is Helping Youths Acquire Valuable Skills

At NBYF, we feel that the most vulnerable people need the most help. And this goes against everything that we stand for.

It is harder than ever for our youths to get paid from their certificates. They need a backup plan, a side hustle that they can rely on while waiting for paid employment, or even turn into their own main business. Either way, teaching skills to youths requires a lot of time, patience, and very importantly, money. Skill acquisition will definitely help our youths, but we need you to help us help them.

Your donations, no matter how small, will help us get facilities where they can learn in a conducive environment, the necessary materials and equipment they’d need, as well as experienced, passionate instructors who will guide them through the learning process. We implore you to give to this noble cause today, and know that by doing so, you’ve saved one more youth from roaming the streets of our country, frustrated and confused about life. Thanks for your donations in advance

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