Worried by the increasing rate of unemployment in Nigeria, Akwaowo Inyang, managing director of AEI Networks Limited, has suggested the Chinese template model of cracking down unemployment in the country
According to Inyang, the Chinese model addresses unemployment using incubation model of micro-managing industries and training youngsters in a structured template in various fields, after which there is a revolving grant that they kick start with under a well structured and monitored template.
According to latest figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate that was 7.5 percent in the first quarter, rose to 8.2 percent in the second quarter and then 9.9 percent in the third quarter of 2015.
The report indicated that within the period under review “the number of unemployed persons in the labour force increased by 1,454,620 persons between Q2 2015 and Q3 2015, resulting in an increase in the unemployment rate to 9.9 percent in Q3 2015 from 8.2 percent in Q2 2015 from 7.5 percent in Q1 2015.”
Amid these challenges, Inyang reveals that revolving grant model that will be managed under Public Private Partnerships (PPP), where the unemployed is trained with requisite skills of entrepreneurship to manage business and empowered with a credit at a minimal lending rate to become a reliable entrepreneur will take millions of youths off the unemployment radar.
He says: “The model allows an incubation training for the unemployed after which he is given a credit facility at a minimal lending rate to allow his business thrive.”
He suggests to the Federal Government to improve the nation’s infrastructural status, which according to him, would thrive private businesses and engage the unemployed meaningfully.
He adds further that his entrepreneurship internship programme is designed to put graduates in the crucibles of business models and ideas that will ensure they become independent of themselves, rather than waiting on the white collar job that never comes.
He suggests further to the Federal Government to ensure SMEs are made attractive to knowledgeable graduates to embrace it and also to ensure they are provided with the funds after their various training to take off.
