When Bunmi, the new Chief Executive Officer of a multinational conglomerate with operations in Southern and Central Africa moved to Nigeria to examine the possibility of opening shop, her first concern was the availability of adequate local skills pool.
Her findings mimicked a recent World Economic Forum report findings on job readiness of Nigerian youth. The WEF’s Human Capital Index, which measures the extent to which countries and economies optimise their human capital through education and skills development and its deployment throughout the life-course, shows that Sub-Saharan Africa, on average, currently only captures 55 percent of its full human capital potential, compared to a global average of 65 percent, ranging from 67 to 63 percent in Mauritius, Ghana and South Africa, to only 49 to 44 percent in Mali, Nigeria and Chad. This leaves widening skills gap.
“With a current population of over 170 million people, forecasted by the United Nations to double by 2050, Nigeria is blessed with a skill potential that must be harnessed for its overall development” said Lazarus Angbazo, the president/CEO, GE Nigeria.
“Bridging the skills gap will require the efforts of multiple economic agents – individuals, governments at all levels, the private sector and educational institutions. It must be deliberate and not left to chance, beginning with dialogue. This conversation about bridging the skills and infrastructure gaps and the best approaches to tackling unemployment should not be left in the hands of only a few” Angbazo offered.
According to the National Bureau Statistics (NBS) the unemployment rate increased from 14.2 percent in Q4 2016 to 16.2 percent in Q2 2017 and 18.8 percent in Q3 2017. The number of people within the labour force who are unemployed or underemployed increased from 13.6 million and 17.7 million respectively in Q2 2017, to 15.9 million and 18.0 million in Q3 2017. Total unemployment and underemployment combined increased from 37.20 percent in the previous quarter to 40.0 percent in Q3 2017.
“Large population is an asset, look at the biggest economies of the world, they all have large population: China, India and the United States of America are good examples. What we need to worry about is the quality of our population, which boils down the level of investment in education, healthcare and human capital development” said Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry in a phone interview.
For any economy to achieve sustainable economic development there must be innovation, industry and people. Innovation refers to the provision of solutions to societal challenges. Industry pushes the bounds of mediocrity and strives for excellence – the exertion and tenacity required to make better. Without the people, none of the others would be needed. The people possess the skills to which innovation and industry are applied.
The skills of a nation’s people determine the quality of its infrastructure and the degree to which it advances. When the level of available skill does not match the requirements for building new infrastructure or maintaining existing ones, the country must make investments and create roles to put its people back on the path of progress. Because skilled labour is a critical consideration for global investment and urban development, having the right people with the right skills for the right jobs has never been more important.
Nigeria is not lacking in industry and innovation, seeing the diligence and doggedness applied to remaining profitable within the current economic climate. The challenge lies with the shortage of skills – a widening gap, especially in technical skills – required to move the country from where it is to where it has to be.
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
