NESG calls for reforms in trade, ICT sectors to tackle youth unemployment

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has called for critical reforms in strategic sectors of the economy to promote job creation.

The private sector-led think-tank said this at a recent workshop in Abuja to disseminate its research findings on “Sectoral Development: Assessing the Conditions that drive Youth Employment in Key Sectors of the Nigerian economy”.

The research is a collaborative effort between the NESG and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC).

Laoye Jaiyeola, chief executive officer of the NESG, said the event was aimed at presenting key findings on drivers of unemployment and providing a platform to deliberate and share perspectives towards improving youth unemployment in Nigeria.

Citing data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), he said, 63 percent of Nigerians aged between 15 to 34 years old — roughly half of the Nigerian labour force — are either unemployed or working below their education, skills, and capability level in 2020.

He said this “ugly” phenomenon has resulted in various social vices plaguing the nation.

According to him, “The youth unemployment situation is adjudged to have resulted in the high incidence of young people’s involvement in social vices such as militancy, kidnapping, political thuggery, armed robbery, prostitution and other forms of unproductive”.

He said that the findings of the study emphasises the need for sectoral reforms in critical sectors such as the manufacturing, services sector, trade, education, information and communication technology (ICT), health, among others.

“To address the youth unemployment in Nigeria, we must not give up on critical reforms that promote productivity, competitiveness, and value creation in these sectors,” Jaiyeola said.

While presenting the outcomes of the research, Sarah Edore, AERC lead, said employment in the industry, construction, and services sector positively influence male employment while in contrast, marital status, remittances, and employment in the trade sector influenced female employment.

Edore said key findings of the report also showed that youth employment was higher in rural areas compared to urban areas.

She said the situation may be attributed to the dominance of the agriculture sector in rural areas that tend to employ able bodies youths to field activities.

“Aside from agriculture, rural youths often engage in construction and home enterprises,” she added.

The report recommended that the government formulate and implement favourable policies that promote public-private partnerships to attract investors into the country.

It also urged the federal government to find a sustainable solution to the issue of insecurity in the country to retain the interest of existing local and foreign investors and attract new ones.