Entrepreneurializing Africa
An analysis of the problem of unemployment in Nigeria and Africa and what we must do about it
It was Pope Francis that called youth unemployment one of “…the most serious of the evils that afflicts the world these days…”.
According to statistics by the Nigerian Bureau Of Statistics (2016) there are 31m Nigerians who are unemployed.
The paradox is that the employers are always looking for great people, almost every employer I know, will still employ a person that interviews exceptionally, has relevant industry experience and shows that he/she has honesty/integrity.
In Nigeria, we have two separate problems:
1. An ‘unemployability’ problem
2. An unemployment problem
I will address both in this article starting with the ‘unemployability’ and then moving onto the more dangerous and fundamental unemployment problem.
Solving the ‘unemployability’ Problem
- Encourage people to work for free
Before I even interviewed for medical school in the UK (yes, before I got a place on a university course), I had to show relevant work experience; which meant working for free in many healthcare settings. Its very rare that a candidate will get a place in a UK medical school, without demonstrating that they have worked in a hospital/healthcare setting before.
I recently employed a manager that went to school in the UK, it was not the ‘international exposure’ per se, that made me hire her. But the wealth of experience she had working before and during University which placed her way above other candidates with similar qualifications.
2. Self Development
I have already written about books as mentors in my article here, books remain invaluable tools for self development and make you sound way smarter at interview
3. Don’t shell on your CV
Should be obvious right? But it’s not. I look at hundreds of CV’s per year and I am still shocked at the number of grammatical errors I see on CV’s. Chances are if you decide to pack North Korea’s entire nuclear arsenal onto your CV you will not get the job.
Look through, get a friend to edit, spell check.
The paragraphs above do not in anyway negate the fact that Nigeria has a serious problem. Our economy doesn’t create even a fraction of the jobs required for the thousands of graduates it produces every year.
This is turning what should be a demographic dividend, into a ticking time bomb
We must entrepreneurialise Nigeria/Africa if we are to survive.
Learn more in my article: Entrepreneurialising Africa
