According to World Bank, the economies of African countries despite the decade long average annual GDP growth of 4-5% has not expanded rapidly enough to absorb the between 9-10 million youths that enter the labor market. Data shows that even in some of the better performing economies on the continent, only 10% of such young people are ultimately able to find productive jobs in the labor market. Data of these kinds throw up and properly situate the joblessness challenge as a matter of two factors- namely, unemployability (skills deficit) and narrow employment opportunities (small sized labor market). The low skills and lack of competitiveness of the young people as well as the slowly changing structure of the economies in Africa are twin time bombs for governments. (Sutern, 2016)
In Nigeria this situation has been here, i don’t want to sound like a prophet of doom but these stats are not changing for the better any moment soon. Should this be a course for concern? the answer is a resounding yes, but our energy for concern must be channeled in the right direction. Nigerian graduates must know that for them to not just survive but thrive, they should build the needed skill set to be able to win in a highly competitive and highly limited job opportunity market.
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