Even As a First Class Graduate, See Reasons Why You Are Unemployed

The level of unemployment and under-employment in the country has gotten to an unbelievable state. Millions of students graduate every year from the tertiary institutions searching for jobs without success, below are few reasons why they are unemployed.

1.     Lack of work experience: Employers often look for more than educational qualifications or certificates to ascertain that a young person will perform well. This is one of the major challenge facing unemployed youths. Many youths don’t have any working experience, they move from one level of educational attainment to another i.e. from primary school to secondary school to the higher institution. Most of them only believe in certificates and qualifications. Many of them do not create time to either develop their skills (i.e., those who really know their skills) or gain practical knowledge in their course of study. This makes them academically qualified for the job but incapable for the work.

2.     Another cause of unemployment is lack of job search skills: This is a situation when there are job applications or vacancies in which a young person don’t know how to write a Curriculum Vitae (CV) or how to present himself in a positive light in recruitment interviews or not knowledgeable on how to explore vacancies on the internet.

3.     The issue of “connection” is one of the reasons for youth unemployment: Connection is when a young person knows an important personality in the society who will get him connected to the desired company he want to work or where the important personality has power to influence them to employ the young person.

Due to this fact, many youths who do not have any connection but with good grades roam the street and trust God to connect them. This issue of connection allows for favoritism between the children of the elites in the society who have influence and the children of the average/poor citizens who don’t know anybody. Thus, the requirement of been employed in Nigeria is not by good grades alone but by knowing an influential person in the society.

4.     There is lack of career information and vocational studies. Many youths are not aware that completion of studies is not the only criteria of being employable, but being an entrepreneur. However, entrepreneurial skills and vocational studies are not taught in schools and higher institutions, emphasis is just only on course of studies. Therefore, there is a need for adequate career information on the course of studies on the level of employ-ability rate in the labour market and vocational studies (i.e., related skills to one’s career or job) which should be added into the school curriculum. The advantages of being an entrepreneur should be taught and promoted so that hopes of those young entrepreneurs who face the risks of starting their own business should be nurtured.

5.     Lack of durable government policies to tackle the fast growing population of unemployed youth is a major problem. Although, as Nigerian population keeps increasing, unemployed youths are also increasing, yet government has failed to come up with a concrete solution on how to solve this persistent problem. As a result of this, youth have lost confidence in the government and this has caused frustration, psychological problem, and aggression. In addition, unfavorable business environment for local and foreign investors has increased the unemployment rate in Nigeria because many companies and business factories have folded up due to the incessant power failure, inconsistent government policies, lack of adequate security, deplorable state of road network, bankruptcy etc. As a result of these, the few private companies left with government establishments cannot absolve the teeming unemployed graduates. This has led to competition for the limited vacancies. That is why thousands of youths unemployed will be jolting for few positions in a company that is recruiting.

     

       BY:   EJILOGO MICHAEL JOSEPH