YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND EMPOWERMENT Professor Akii Ibhadode FAS

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT AND EMPOWERMENT Professor Akii Ibhadode FAS Vice Chancellor Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun, Delta State ibhadode. akii@fupre. edu. ng Being a presentation made at the 25 th COREN Engineering Assembly, 8 th – 10 th August 2016 at Akure

OVERVIEW Global Perspective - Introduction - Causes of Youth Unemployment - Consequences of Youth Unemployment - Empowerment Nigerian Perspective - Introduction - Skills Gap - Faulty Nigerian Educational System - Importance of Technical/Vocational Education - Building Capacity for Employment - Benefits of Entrepreneurship • Conclusion

GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE (Slides 4 – 30 abridged from Wikipedia)

WHAT IS UNEMPLOYMENT? The state when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work Often used as a measure of the health of the economy

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE Most frequently cited measure of unemployment This is the number of unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labour force

QUALITIES OF THE UNEMPLOYED To qualify as unemployed for official and statistical measurement, the individual must Be without employment Willing to work Able to work Be of the officially designated ‘working age’ Actively searching for a job

YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT The unemployment of young people, defined by the United Nations as 14 – 28 years. Youth unemployment rates are usually four to five times more than the adult rates in every country of the world In 2012, youth made up to 40% of the world unemployed with a global youth rate of 12. 6% Thus, close to 75 million youth were unemployed in the world in 2012

CAUSES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT GLOBALLY (1) Quality and relevance of education – the skills crisis Education not adequately tailored to the needs of the labour market leading to - Inability for young people to find jobs - Inability for employers to hire the skills they need Surveys suggest that up to half of all businesses have open positions for which they are struggling to find suitably qualified people

(2) Inflexible labour markets and regulations Labour market policies and institutions play a critical role in promoting labour demand supporting transition from education to work The effects of these include - A high level of employment protection regulations had a negative effect on youth workers as these regulations make it harder for employers to fire them during a downturn. This discourages employs from hiring youths - Development of temporary forms of work such as internships, seasonal jobs and short term contracts have left young workers in precarious situations

(2) Inflexible labour markets and regulations (continued) Youths are often the first to be laid off when a company downsizes as their jobs are often temporary If laid off, youth are typically not eligible for redundancy payments because they have only worked with the company for a short period of time

(3) Assistance and dependency Many countries around the world provide income assistance to support unemployed youth until labour market and economic conditions improve This tends to create dependency among the youth and has a detrimental effect on them

CONSEQUENCES OF YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT (1) A lost generation There is productivity loss - Unable to build up skills or experience - Earns lower salaries

(1) A lost generation (continued) Long-term direct and indirect impacts on youth and their families - Being forced to live longer with parents and being dependent on them - Decreased happiness - Could lead to mental health issues - Face isolation from society - Marginalized from the labour market - Can develop anti-social behavior

(2) Political Unrest and Increased Public Spending Can lead to political unrest - Examples include militancy in the Niger Delta, fall of four Arab countries (Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Yemen) within 12 months in 2011 Youth unemployment can drastically increase government spending

(2) Political Unrest and Increased Public Spending (continued) Other direct costs such as - Increased benefit payments - Lost income tax - Wasted capacity

(2) Political Unrest and Increased Public Spending (continued) Indirect costs such as emigration leading to q brain drain q needless deaths in journeys through dangerous terrains: the Sahara Desert, Mediterranean Sea, etc using unsafe means

(3) A Lack of Innovation Loss of talent and skills since a great number of university graduates are unable to find jobs and put their knowledge and capabilities into producing innovation and contributing to economic growth

(4) Incarceration and Mortality Because youth are idle, they could easily fall into crime and vices which could lead to their incarceration and possible mortality in gang fights, police shooting, etc.

EMPOWERMENT (1) Appropriate Labour Market Policies and Institutions More balanced employment protection for permanent and temporary workers is needed - Will ensure that young people who lack work experience can prove their abilities and skills and then move steadily to regular employment - Will encourage a more equal treatment between permanent and temporary workers and help fight informal employment

EMPOWERMENT (1) Appropriate Labour Market Policies and Institutions (continued) Level and spread of income support provided to unemployed youths - Some countries shift their support from direct financial assistance to funding apprenticeship - Others increase their support tying it back to stricter obligations of active search and training

EMPOWERMENT (1) Appropriate Labour Market Policies and Institutions (continued) Governments involving employers and trainers to create a holistic approach to youth unemployment and provide intensive programmes with focus on remedial education, work experience and adult mentoring - For example, SURE-P, YOU-WIN, etc of the last Federal Government - This can bring about appreciable employment not only in existing companies but can lead to self-employment

EMPOWERMENT (2) Vocational Education Provision of technical training to youth to prepare them specifically for a job Would help address the skills crisisthe following countries have been remarkably successful in developing vocational education - The Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Norway, Switzerland Singapore - It has reduced unemployment appreciably in these countries

EMPOWERMENT (2) Vocational Education (continued) Reasons why vocational education should be a part of political programmes to combat youth unemployment - Case studies show that vocational training programmes reduce unemployment and increase wages - Vocational education increases employers’ productivity

EMPOWERMENT (2) Vocational Education (continued) Reasons why vocational education should be a part of political programmes to combat youth unemployment (continued) - Vocational education has significant social benefits: Improved income equality q Greater social inclusion q Lower crime rates q Improved health and well-being q Broader social benefits associated with high employment q

EMPOWERMENT (2) Vocational Education (continued) Reasons why vocational education should be a part of political programmes to combat youth unemployment (continued) - Foundational skills acquired from vocational education have been identified as key to a successful transition to work - Vocational education provides an alternative to general education pathways with on-thejob training

EMPOWERMENT (3) Balanced Knowledge-Skills-Centred Teaching There need to be major changes in what we teach in and in the way we teach One major approach is to shift teaching from knowledge-centred teaching to a balanced knowledge-skills-centred teaching

EMPOWERMENT (4) Entrepreneurship Structures should be created to encourage youth to create enterprises as means to find and create new jobs Small and Medium Enterprises are today’s main employers of labour There is urgent need to prepare young people for an entrepreneurship culture to empower them to take their future into their hands • Target tax and business incentives should be provided to support young entrepreneurs in creating and scaling their businesses

EMPOWERMENT (4) Entrepreneurship (continued) By investing in them the leadership and management skills they need to become innovators and entrepreneurs - Communication - Teamwork - Decision-making - Organizational skills - Self-confidence

EMPOWERMENT (5) Transition Assistance to Youth to the World of Work Provision of good quality career guidance along with labour market prospects will help youth make better career choices - Clear career pathways should be provided Programmes should be developed to better transition youth to the world of work - Vocational and apprenticeship schemes which provide practice and on-the-job training should be aggressively developed

EMPOWERMENT (6) Use of Social Media Use of the Internet and social networks: Facebook, Aboutme, Linkedln, Twitter, Whassap, etc, can be massively exploited to create jobs for and by the youth This is very well suited to young people as the Internet is a rather new technology for which they are active players Massive jobs can be created by young people developing new applications that fit more with today’s online presence and use of new technology

EMPOWERMENT (6) Use of Social Media (continued) Numerous examples exist for this and the following are new companies/applications that have been developed recently in Nigeria - Wakanow: www. wakanow. com - Hotel Now: www. hotelnownow. com - Balogun Market: www. balogunmarket. ng - Hello Tractor: www. hellotractor. com - Cold Hub: www. coldhub. com - Piggybankg. Ng: www. piggybank. ng

EMPOWERMENT (6) Use of Social Media (continued) Save and Buy: www. saveandbuy. com. ng Aella Credit: www. aellacredit. com 500 Dishes: www. 500 dishes. com Fueled. Up: www. fueledup. co Marie’s Veg: www. mariesveg. com Shuttlers: www. shuttlers. ng Jekalo: www. jekalo. com Go My Way: www. gomyway. com The Cardiac Movement: www. thecardiacmovement. com Cradlecount (download through Google Play) Drugstoc: www. drugstoc. com

NIGERIAN PERSPECTIVE

INTRODUCTION The Unemployment Problem Unemployment has reached an alarming proportion in Nigeria It calls for concern by all well-meaning persons as it portends grave danger for the nation This problem may be mitigated by the government and individuals While various governments may be formulating policies to address the problem, individuals can also take measures to stem the tide At both the government and individual’s levels, skills development is at the heart of creating employment

Skills Skill may be defined as the particular ability, knowledge and experience required to be able to do something well. It requires a particular ability or special training. All activities carried out that result in productive enterprise employ the skills of persons. As a nation, it is important that we develop appropriate skills that enhance our development in order to compete effectively in the global market.

TYPES OF SKILLS Conveniently, we may divide skills required for national development into Occupational skills Information Technology (IT) skills Employability skills

Occupational Skills These are as numerous as the number of occupational activities or tasks that are available. These include various engineering, journalism, catering, accounting, etc. skills

IT Skills These are skills associated with the use, study or production of a range of technologies, especially computer systems, digital electronics and telecommunications to store, process and transmit information. In this computer age, it is expedient for everyone, especially youths preparing for the world of work, to have IT skills

Employability Skills These are those basic skills necessary for getting, keeping and doing well on a job Unlike occupational or technical skills, employability skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and cut across all industry types, business sizes, and job levels from the entry-level worker to the senior-most position. These include teamwork, communication and problem-solving skills

Team working skills Teamwork may be defined as a joint action by a group of people, in which each person subordinates his or her individual interests and opinions to the unity and efficiency of the group This does not mean that the individual is no longer important; however, it does mean that effective and efficient teamwork goes beyond individual accomplishments. The most effective teamwork is produced when all the individuals involved harmonize their contributions and work towards a common goal. Teamwork produces synergy

Communication and Problem Solving Skills One of the things that employers often identify as being an important quality when hiring tertiary education graduates is their communication and problem-solving skills Students need to develop the ability to apply problem-solving skills when faced with issues or problems that are new to them The development and use of problem-solving skills also improves learning

Problems Solving Steps Identify the problem Analyze the problem and gather information Generate potential solutions Select and test the solution Analyze/Evaluate the results

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT We can write volumes on skills development: its character, nature, effects and influences on it However, a critical factor that influences the choice of skills by the youths and their parents is whether they would find a good job after acquiring the skill As a result of this critical question, we are going to devote the rest of this presentation to methods of breaking the unemployment scourge in Nigeria

CAUSES OF UNEMPLOYMENT IN NIGERIA Globalization Global village Freer movements across borders Thus goods flow in from countries that are more competitive than Nigeria Such as China and India Leads to folding up of Nigerian companies

Unfriendly Nigerian Business Environment (Poor Infrastructure) Lack of adequate electric power supply Growing insecurity Bad roads Lack of rail network Double taxation Difficulty in repatriation of profits overseas Corruption 419

Causes - companies to fold up - relocation of others to friendlier environments - discourages establishment of newer businesses - discourages direct foreign investment

Population Growth Outstrips Economic Growth While the population keeps increasing, the economy is not growing at the same rate And at times, it is even shrinking Definitely, there are fewer jobs being chased by a greater number of people

Unemployable Youths Despite the above problems, many jobs and potential ones are available especially in the oil, oil-related, food, agriculture, and service industries However, the right skills are not available to fill these job vacancies Most youths are acquiring skills which are not useful to the Nigerian economy

WHAT THE INDIVIDUAL CAN DO ABOUT UNEMPLOYMENT As an individual, there is very little that can be done concerning the first three reasons above But the individual can do something about the fourth reason by making him or herself employable by acquiring relevant skills Nigerian youths are unemployable because they are not equipped with the right skills that are needed in the Nigerian labor market

WHY NIGERIAN YOUTHS ARE NOT ADEQUATELY SKILLED Faulty Educational System The Nigerian educational system is faulty because every young person is headed for the university But this cannot be because every sector of the economy needs to be catered for Due to the pressure on the university system, most of the graduates are half-baked

Ignorance Hosea 4: 6 says “My people perish for lack of knowledge” Ignorance on the part of everybody – the Nigerian society, parents and young persons – who think that paper qualification is key to success in life! Example of a former student who travelled to Ukraine

FAULTY NIGERIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM On paper, Nigeria has a great educational system especially with the 6 -3 -3 -4 system In reality, the system is not working After JSS, students with technical and vocational potentials are supposed to pursue such skills by further training However, every student ends up with academic pursuits meant for the university. Technical and vocational schools no longer exist The few that existed have become grammar schools in content such as the Benin Technical College!

Figure 1: Relationships between skills acquisition and manpower needs for a normal society

Figure 2: Relationships between skills acquisition and manpower needs in present-day Nigeria (exaggerated)

Figure 3: Existing manpower structure in Nigeria which has made unemployment endemic

ILLUSTRATION OF THE CHAOTIC MANPOWER STRUCTURE IN NIGERIA Use the engineering profession as example Engineers are trained in universities to principally design, produce and maintain diverse products and systems Technologists and technicians are trained in polytechnics, monotechnics and colleges to design, produce and maintain particular products and systems Craftsmen and artisan are trained in technical and vocational schools to make and or maintain very specific products and systems

(a) Normal form of engineering profession (b) Existing form of engineering profession in Nigeria Figure 4: Cadres In the engineering profession

Example Nigeria is producing far too many engineers than it needs because only very little engineering design and production take place For example, if a Nigerian car were to be produced, it may require no more than about 50 engineers mainly mechanical engineers and some chemical and electrical engineers to design it If a million of this car were to be produced, we may need about 20, 000 automobile mechanics to maintain them with each having 50 customers This hypothetical example tells us that we need to train 400 mechanics for every engineer produced

MIDDLE AND LOW LEVEL MANPOWER TRAINING IN CANADA Canada is over 15 times richer than Nigeria It has a well planned educational system that produces relevant skills needed in the country A very important feature of the middle and low level manpower training programs of Canada is that it requires that a trainee must first find an employer to hire him or her as an apprentice before being admitted into the training programs This ensures that the training is relevant to industry and the country. The programs run by SAIT Polytechnic in Calgary explain this point vividly SAIT Polytechnic has the following skills training programs for which students from all parts of the world scramble to be admitted

Mechanical technician (Millwright) Refrigeration and air conditioning Rigging and hoisting Transportation air conditioning and refrigeration equipment Machinist Welding Non-destructive testing Welding inspection

Construction estimating Construction management Sheet metal work Aviation technology and technician Heavy equipment and diesel mechanic Gas fitter Steam (Pipe) fitter

Safety awareness Safety management Industrial environmental awareness Railroad safety and operations Oil and gas production accounting Office skills Energy asset management Finance and accounting Economics

Customer service Computer support Database management Information technology management Networking Telecommunications Software development

Baking and pastry art Hotel and restaurant management Meat operations and management Professional cooking Travel and tourism

IMPORTANCE OF TECHNICAL/VOCATIONAL EDUCATION The following two real life examples will illustrate the importance of technical/vocational education especially in present-day Nigeria.

Example 1 There was a young man working as a machinist in the Faculty of Engineering Workshop, University of Benin who left for the UK around 2006 After his secondary school education, he trained as a machinist and thereafter secured a job with the University of Benin

• He is now working for a company in London as a machinist using state-of-the-art machine tools as in Figure 6 • He makes engine parts for Jaguar Motor Company Figure 6: Computer controlled machine tools

Some years back, he came home to marry a former student of Production Engineering at the University of Benin While this machinist works for a top-rate company in London, his engineer wife does menial jobs in London because she has no particular skills!

Example 2 Some years back, one of my students who had just graduated and did his final year project with me told me that as he was waiting for NYSC deployment, he took up a job with a machine shop in Lagos (Figure 7) He said this company got a contract with Nigerian Flour Mills to install equipment for a new production line A Swiss company supplied the equipment He said the owner of the company who then was only a 30 -year old man made about 2. 4 million Naira every week from the contract

Figure 7: A machine shop

He said that the owner of the company is a technician who never went to university He was bitter that it appears that he had come to waste five years in the university He said that he is making plans to undergo a full machinist’s training program possibly during his NYSC period I told him that in the World-of-Work, it is performance that matters and not paper qualification I also encouraged him that he has not wasted five years in the university because with his training as an engineer he can easily grasp problems quickly, analyze them and proffer workable solutions As an engineer, if he goes on to train as a competent machinist, he was going to do very well

GRADUATES WHO MAY EASILY FIND JOBS High flyers like those who made very good classes of degree/diploma Those who have relevant extra skills beyond what the universities/polytechnics can offer Those who are entrepreneurial and want to be job creators rather than seekers

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR EXCELLENCE FOR PAID EMPLOYMENT The Nature of the Labour Market Few jobs being chased by many applicants - Makes recruitment exercises to be very competitive - Promotes the culture of using influence to get employment in some organizations such as government

Only few graduates have required competencies to be employed Reasons for this: (i) What is taught in school seems quite different from what goes on in industry (ii) Falling standard of education due to lack of commitment of knowledge-givers and poor quality of students

APPROPRIATE RESPONSE TO NATURE OF THE LABOUR MARKET • As the market is very competitive, then students must equip themselves by - Working hard at their studies to obtain knowledge which they can defend - Working hard at their studies to obtain good class of degree - Acquire materials on aptitude testing and testing themselves ahead of time • As only few graduates are employable, they should do the following: - Acquire relevant skills that industry wants at their spare time such as during holidays, industrial training periods, NYSC periods, etc

• Such skills could include - Relevant computer programming packages - Communication skills - Doing joint projects to develop team working skills - Aspiring to leadership positions in their church/fellowship groups, departmental/faculty associations, etc to develop leadership skills - Taking lecture, reading books, doing challenging projects to develop problem solving skills

• As industries rightly prefer persons with practical experience, they should do the following: - Acquire practical experience relevant to their field of study - Can be done by doing IT in relevant industries and getting involved with the work to have hands-on experience - If possible, do their NYSC primary assignments in relevant companies - Use spare time to acquire relevant experience in their fields of study - Don’t waste time at home looking for good paying jobs when they can take up jobs that will give them practical experience which can ultimately take them to that desired job

As industry is sympathetic to those who are teachable - they should learn to humble themselves to learn from artisans, craftsmen, technicians and technologists during their ITs, NYSC

BENEFITS OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP The importance of SMEs cannot be overemphasized. The following shows how extremely important SMEs are to any national economy. Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, in his proclamation of the Small Business Week, 1988 stated that

“More than 17 million Americans own a small business; and the rest of us benefit from their ingenuity, enterprise, and hard work. These entrepreneurs employ half of all Americans in the workforce. These achievements and the American heritage of economic liberty that helps make them possible are truly fitting reasons for each of us to join in observance of Small Business week. Today, small businesses provide well over two-thirds of all new American jobs, as well as 40 percent of our aggregate national output; the bulk of new American products and technologies, and more than two-thirds of all first jobs. …. ” Ronald Reagan

• For Nigeria to develop utilizing her full potential by creating entrepreneurs who can compete internationally • The jobs are not just there - The world over, there is growing unemployment - It may even be worse in Nigeria

• Arising from above, our youths may waste their very productive years searching for non-existent jobs - The most productive age range is 20 – 35 years - Chinua Achebe published his world-acclaimed classic novel Things Fall Apart at age 27 - Facebook, Google and Microsoft founders started these companies which have become global companies in the lower rung of this age bracket

Freedom to test your ideas if you are a dreamer Freedom to plan your life the way you want Salary paid to the employee is pittance compared to what the employer makes - The employee no matter how much he earns can never be as rich as the employer - One sure way to wealth is by being an employer of labour

SOME NOTES ON SELF-EMPLOYMENT • Persons having an entrepreneurial spirit, should spend only a few number of years working for others, thereafter launch out to start their businesses - Period of paid employment should be used to gather all relevant skills and resources to start own business - Before fully launching out, it may be necessary to first combine with your paid employment, if possible, before easing out gradually - This provides a safe net in case the business does not show signs of success - However, ensure that the paid employment does not suffer in the process • Look out for investments in areas where there are gaps in goods and services which must satisfy the needs of people • Set up businesses with focus on being global in operation, and that will outlast you • For example companies like Toyota, Suzuki, Lever Brothers, etc

CONCLUSION In this presentation, we have shown • The global trend in empowering youth for employment We have also shown the following - That a skills gap exists in Nigeria’s educational system which has rendered many youths unemployed - This skills gap needs to be bridged by both government and the individual - While governments suffer from inertia, the individual can take his destiny into his hands by doing what he can to fill his own gap - A number of strategies has been enumerated for taming the unemployment scourge among which is entrepreneurship

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