Lack of skills responsible for high unemployment rate in Nigeria — Group

LACK of skills has been identified as a major reason for high level of unemployment in Nigeria, Amazon Web Service (AWS) User Group has said.

The Convener and AWS Community Leader, Mr Ayinde Jamiu Kunle, speaking at the AWS Nigeria User Group first meetup in Abuja, said cloud computing has the potential to address the unemployment problem in Nigeria.

The event with the theme: Roadmap to Cloud Computing was organised in collaboration with Nile University, Abuja and Afex Nigeria to train students and other participants on cloud computing skills as well as educate them on available opportunities in cloud computing environment.

Kunle said it was however, unfortunate that the youths in the country lack the requisite cloud computing skills to access available jobs in Amazon Web Service.

In the first quarter of 2021, a report published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on its website noted that Nigeria’s Unemployment Rate has risen from 27.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, to 33 per cent.

Unemployment for people aged 15 to 24 stood at 53.4 per cent in the fourth quarter and at 37.2 per cent for people aged 25 to 34. The jobless rate for women was 35.2 per cent compared with 31.8 per cent for men.

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But Kunle said: “The unemployment we have in Nigeria could be reduced with youths tapping into cloud computing. In cloud computing environment, jobs are waiting for people to pick.

“It is not as if there are no jobs, but the problem is the right skill to pick them. In fact, these are some of the highest paying jobs in the world. In Nigeria, we have people who are ready to work but lack the necessary skill; hence this training programme,” he said.

He added the students who participated in the programme would have acquired some skills that they are going to need when they graduate from the University environment.

While the Head of Technology, Infrostrategy Technology, Mr Tobenna Nwokike, made presentation on “Let’s Go Serverless”, a five-time AWS Certified, Precious Okwu, spoke on Roadmap to Cloud.

Precious Okwu also noted that cloud computing could help organisatons to tremendously reduce their cost of operation.