In developed economies (like the US, UK, Europe, and some Middle East countries facing this global economic crisis), there usually two major types of labour markets; those who have been out of job within a short term (say, less than 1 year), and those who have been out of work for longer periods. With this current crisis, a new set is emerging, ie, those that have never been employed at all. Or, what I call the making of a jobless generation.

In a research conducted by Rand Ghayad on the American labour market, it was discovered that those who have been out of work for less than six months have a far better chance of getting a job from employers, while those who have been out of work for a longer period were highly rejected by employers regardless of the amount of skills, experiences, and qualifications that they possessed.

But in a developing country like Nigeria (Or is it a growing underdeveloped country?), there are 3 clear distinct types of labour markets; those who have been out of work for less than 2 years, those who have been out of work for more than two years, and then those who have never worked at all since they left school.

Over 20 million Nigerian Youths fall within this category. In a Tuesday Guardian (March 19, 2013), I read an article titled, ‘Plight of Job Seekers in a depressed economy’, where the above data was stated by the Statistician-General of the Federation. After reading this article, I re-titled it as, ‘The Lamentations of the Nigerian Youth’. In the Nigerian Tribune online, the number even spans higher to 32.5 million (during the same period I read the Guardian), a number they got from the National Bureau of Statistics.

Despite all efforts made by the Government through its myriad of programmes, like SUREP-Subsidy Reinvestment Empowerment program, YouWIN- Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria programme, which is a collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Development, Ministry of Communication Technology, and the Ministry of Finance, and a couple of other incentives given to existing firms to retain these graduate employees, the unemployment numbers just keep stacking up.

What does this tell you as a jobseeker? It goes to show that this is not only your problem; it is also a problem of the Government. Youth unemployment is the second biggest problem today facing Nigeria as a country after security.

Now back to the basics. You have been taught subconsciously that, ‘A job is a direct product of your schooling’. This means that you are naturally expected to get a job when or after you finish your schooling. But with today’s situation, you can clearly see that this has not been the case. If you spend around 15 years in school and then you come out without getting a job, don’t you think there’s a big unseen problem lying somewhere? It may mean one of many causes. It could mean that the present educational system is not working hard enough to figure out what a job really is, and then look for ways to help students to get it. It could mean that there is a problem with the economic system in the country, which can also mean that the system is not productive enough to employ manpower. It could be that the country is plagued with graft so much that it becomes virtually impossible for small business (greatest employers of labour) to survive and thrive. Or it could also be that this country as a whole does not fully understand the laws or principles governing civilization and its merits.

Whatever the case is, it simply goes to show that if we know collectively enough as a nation, then we will be productive enough to enable and empower ourselves, as well as our less privileged neighbouring countries.

A Dutch Lagos based female journalist, Femke Van Zeigl once wrote on the cover of Guardian with the title- ‘Mediocrity overtakes graft, wrecks Nigeria’ (http://theguardianmobile.com/readNewsItem1.php?nid=12175 ), and she did a very good job in showing us how mediocrity has taken over the country.

Unfortunately, the Nigeria Labour Market is filled with ‘products’ that are developed from mediocre educational systems. These ‘products (jobseekers)’ are not fully equipped with the right knowledge tools and skills to create and deliver. When you pass through a faulty filter, what you get is a mixture of pure and impure substance. And when you go through substandard/ mediocre schools or systems of knowledge, what will you get? You will get a Labour market filled with mediocre performers who will not be able to deliver. No more, no less. This is the reward of sowing half-baked seed on a half-baked soil.

No matter the challenges facing any country, if the knowledge system is well grounded, then the result will lead to some kind of productivity one way or the other. But if the system is bad, there is little you can do to change the outcome, except by overhauling the system.

An interesting thing about knowledge is that knowledge thrives in a continuous mode, and becomes distorted when its flow is interrupted. An interruption like the University strike that is on today will cause a far greater damage on the students, because this knowledge continuity has been broken. When the strike is resolved, everything goes back to minus, and then the students will have to play catch up. So, instead of focusing on developing the right knowledge and skills, the emphasis is now on how to fill up the missing gaps- hurry up, read to pass the exams and then get out as fast as possible.

True knowledge thrives within a certain framework of continuous interaction. And true knowledge with skill cannot be hidden inside a box. No matter what happens, real knowledge will always find a way to express itself. For example, a well trained engineer will still build a car regardless of the materials that are available; the only problem is that he might not be able to build a solid car like the one that is built by his more privileged counterparts in other parts of the world. He might even build a car that may not work because there are some missing elements. But we will know that at least he has tried to build one, and that he can build one. But this is not so in this country. We all KNOW that we CANNOT build a car!

But when this knowledge is not fully understood, when this skill is not fully honed and developed, then the result of what we have is usually called a ‘Developing Nation’. This is in itself a consolation. In realistic terms, the word ‘developing’ is just a promising word that is used to lull and soothe us into a state of complacency. The real word should be, “A promising Underdeveloped Nation”. The earlier we begin to see ourselves like this, the better we’ll be able to try to solve the real problems, and also to move this nation (or any other) forward.


Source:
http://dreamjobchannel.com/dreamjob/the-labour-market-products-padded-with-dross/#more-284