FG urges graduates to embrace blue, green collar jobs

The Federal Government has urged unemployed graduates to embrace blue/green-collar jobs as sustainable alternatives to white-collar jobs.

The Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige, made the call at a town hall meeting on popularisation of blue/green collar jobs among graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, held in Benin, Edo State.

Represented by the Director, Special Duties and Projects department in the Ministry, Dr Martina Nwordu, the Minister urged Nigerian youths to invest their talent in the blue/green collar jobs sector, as the richest youth of the world, aged between 21 and 31 years, are not employees of government but smart entrepreneurs, who distinguished themselves in creative skills in various areas.

Ngige disclosed that the purpose of the meeting, which held concurrently in four other geopolitical zones of the federation, was to sensitise representatives of key stakeholders in graduate employment on the benefits of blue/green-collar jobs as an alternative response to the challenges of graduate unemployment.

According to him, the town hall meeting is part of the activities in the Graduate Employability Enhancement Scheme (GEES), an initiation of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, on how to break the resilience of high unemployment rate in Nigeria.

He urged the stakeholders – unemployed graduates, parents, career counsellors, students of tertiary institutions, among others, to key into the profitable opportunities offered by blue/green-collar jobs, which include income satisfaction, self-dignity and esteemed self-worth.

Ngige urged stakeholders to cooperate with the government as it implements the programme, and also enjoined representatives of the stakeholders to convey the messages of the meeting to their various communities.