Layo Bakare-Okeowo, President, FAE Group, has urged employers to support government to reduce brain drain by incentivising and encouraging the best brains remain in the country and contribute to economic growth.
Bakare-Okeowo made the call at the 2025 edition of the World Envelope Day and job fair supported by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Jobberman on Wednesday in Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event’s theme is: Empowering Job Seekers across the Nations with Essential Skill and Knowledge”.
Bakare-Okeowo noted that while envelopes seemed like a small and mundane part of the world, they played a significant role in connecting people and enabling communication.
She said the World Envelope Day presented an opportunity to celebrate the brains and dedicated professionals behind envelope production.
She stated that the time for Nigeria to stop exporting its best brains was now, saying the job fair is a way of giving back to the society to reduce the ‘Japa syndrome’.
“In addition to celebrating envelopes, today’s event also includes a career fair, providing a platform for talented individuals to explore opportunities with medium and large organisations.
“This is an attempt to give back to society by investing in our youth, preparing them to overcome future challenges of work and improve on their employability,” she said.
In his remarks, President, LCCI, Gabriel Idahosa, said the event celebrated envelopes as a timeless carrier of information.
He said it also unveiled a partnership between the FAE Group and the LCCI, grounded in purpose, powered by vision, and driven by a shared mission to empower job seekers across nations with essential skills and knowledge.
Idahosa quoted that according to International Labour Organisation (ILO), more than 73 million young people were unemployed globally in 2023.
He added that the organisation reported that over 401 per cent of employers reported challenges filling vacancies due to a lack of required skills.
According to him, this stark contrast presents a powerful call to action which was being answered through the partnership.
The LCCI president stated that the partnership birthed a spirit of corporate responsibility that went beyond the factory floor into the future of the youths.
“At first glance, the envelope may seem like a modest object.
“Yet, symbolically, it carries the weight of possibilities: an appointment letter, a scholarship offer, a business proposal.
“In the same way, this collaboration stands as a vessel for transformational change, especially in a time when the world faces growing unemployment and widening skills gaps,” he said.
The LCCI president said that across the globe, there were powerful examples of how targeted skill development initiatives can transform communities and empower young people.
He noted that in Nigeria, the N-Power programme had shown the immense value of structured training and mentorship, integrating hundreds of thousands of youth into key sectors like agriculture, education, and technology.
Idahosa stated that inspired by these impactful models, the FAE-LCCI partnership would strategically be designed around three foundational pillars.
He said they were skill acceleration, envelope incubator hub innovation centers and job connector series.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer, Jobberman, Oreoluwa Boboye, said the event aimed to create opportunities for attendees to learn, network, and secure job placements with organisations that participated in the fair.
Boboye, represented by Innih Ikhide, Head, Youth Engagement and Learning, Jobberman, said the fair would equip young talents with essential skills in various creative fields.
