Career fair tasks youths on unemployment

The National Career Fair, at its 6th edition, has urged Nigerian youths to brace up in their passion and goals to improve their employability, urging them to think, create job opportunities not just for themselves but also for others.

The event, which attracted people from all walks of life, including brand managers, CEOs, politicians, industrial trainees, employers of labour, distinguished media personalities as well as high-profiled personnel, aimed at providing instantaneous solutions to the issues of unemployment in the nation through the “Employ an intern campaign.”

The “employ an intern campaign,” scheduled to run through December 2017 till April 2018 on a nationwide tour to six geo-political zones of the country, is designed to engage a growing Nigerian workforce positively as well as encourage organisations and individuals to employ interns all around the country.

The convener, Oluwaseun Shogbamu, said the campaign was launched out of his drive and determination to impact Nigerian youths positively in nation-building and youth empowerment.

Shogbamu, who applauded the commitment and passion of the Nigerian youths towards innovations, personal development and nation-building even in an unfavourable living condition and government policies, encouraged them to take advantage of the campaign platform and apply for various job and internship opportunities to be provided in the course of the nationwide tour.

Also, the CEO of Bi-Solution Empowerment, a consultant, Mrs. Tokunbo Fashoro, encouraged young Nigerians to get more work experience, apply for internships and freelance to acquire the skills needed for a good work experience.

Fashoro, who stated that there are numerous job opportunities for young graduates but there are no skills and talents to occupy those positions, called on Nigerian youths to seek knowledge even if it meant working for free.

One of the panellists at the event, a strategist, Advocacy & Stakeholder at the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria, Obiageli Aito, said corporate organisations should not hesitate to meet the needs of unemployed Nigerians by giving them opportunities in their firms as interns.

A foremost journalist and former Managing Editor of Independence Communications Network Limited, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, charged young people to remain focused and be specific about the things they want in life.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Proten International, also a panellist, Ope Onaboye, says that Nigerian youths have been so engrossed at the fallacious phrase of “No jobs in the country”, stating that there are one million and one job opportunities for qualified candidates.