A study by General Electric has established that Nigeria’s young population can be put to better use.
The study, dubbed: Skills White Paper, is targeted at improving the
capacity of Nigeria to harness the potential of its growing young
population.
According to the White Paper, sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to be
home to a quarter of people aged 24 and below by 2030, with Nigeria
contributing the most significant number.
The document, with the title: ‘Building strong workforces to power
Africa’s growth: The future of work in Africa’, identifies that Nigeria
is unable to provide jobs and prospects to majority of its young and
growing population, a situation which is buttressed by statistics
putting youth employment at 50 per cent.
General Electric Nigeria’s President and Chief Executive Officer
Lazarus Angbazo advised that this situation must change “because it
condemns a large number of young people to low living standards and
represents a terrible waste of human capital undermining future economic
growth, but also because it poses a risk to social and economic
stability”.
He said the country would reap enormous dividends from the
opportunity that its human capital presents if it adequately engages
this potential workforce.
Angbazo pointed out that achieving this would propel growth
positively and engender prosperity among the people with families
having more money to spend on education and health care.
To harness the opportunities the future presents, the GE boss said
his company embarked on a thorough interrogation of the situation the
country faces at the moment, and came out with recommendations in the
Skills White Paper.
The steps recommended include: A stronger education system with
deliberate emphasis on science, technology, education and mathematics;
more open and flexible labour markets and a broader talent localization
strategy pursued in partnership with global companies; and exploring the
pipeline of skills needed to leverage the technological advances of the
future.
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