NECA, MDAs Partner To Launch Skills Scheme

The Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA), has partnered with government agencies to launch a skills scheme, NECA preneur, in the country.
According to the statement issued on Monday, by the Director-General of NECA, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo, said that NECA preneur is an e-solution targeted at providing easy – to- access opportunity for teeming Nigerian youths to upscale their skills rather than seeking after white collar jobs.
Oshinowo added that the initiative was in tandem with NECA’s mandate to influence economic and socio- labour policies to create an opportunity for the unemployed youths to be gainfully employed and in turu become employers of labour and ultimately add to national development.
He said that the skills scheme is targeted at getting youths to be wealth creators rather than job seekers roaming the streets in search of white collar jobs where there is none and equally become ready tools for social vices. He explained that NECA preneur is particularly designed for youths and undergraduates in Nigeria with the idea to create an environment where the body can get Nigerian undergraduates to think entrepreneurship before leaving the university.
He stressed that about 50 per cent of the country’s population is below 30 years and over 13 per cent of this age bracket are unemployed and that NECA preneur therefore seeks to aggressively develop and make Nigerian youths entrepreneurs.
The NECA D-G added that the organisation is representative of employers, has the statistics of the unemployed Nigerian youth, stressing further that the demand for white collar jobs has by far outstripped the supply.
He said that the NECA skills scheme is open to all Nigerian youths and urged them to embrace the skills for them to become better entrepreneurs tomorrow.
Oshinowo said that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently released statistics and put unemployment rate among Nigerian youths at 80 per cent and NECA in partnership with emerging Business Service would redirect the focus of the youths toward entrepreneurship.