Unemployment: NESG findings suggest reforms in ICT, education trade, other sectors

According to research findings by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), to tackle unemployment in Nigeria, there is a need for sectoral reforms in critical and strategic sectors of the economy such as the manufacturing, services sector, trade, education, health, ICT, among others.

NESG is a Private Sector led think tank with the mandate to champion the reform of the Nigerian economy into a globally competitive, sustainable and inclusive economy

During a workshop on Tuesday in Abuja to disseminate the research findings titled ‘Sectoral Development: Assessing the Conditions that drive Youth Employment in Key Sectors of the Nigerian Economy’, the CEO of NESG, Mr Laoye Jaiyeola said the workshop which was organised by NESG and the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) is aimed at disseminating key research findings on drivers of youth employment in critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.

He also said the workshop was targeted at providing a platform to deliberate, explore and share perspectives on relevant policy interventions and approaches towards improving the state of youth employment in Nigeria.

Mr Laiyeola who was represented by the Chief Economist and Head of Research in NESG, Dr Olusegun Omisakin, said “key findings from the study also support NESG’s position on the need for sectoral reforms in critical and strategic sectors of the economy such as the manufacturing, services sector, trade, education, health, ICT, among others”.

He said therefore, to address the youth unemployment in Nigeria, the country must not give up on critical reforms that promote productivity, competitiveness and value creation in these sectors.

Furthermore, he said the study’s findings indicate that gender, among other critical factors, influences youth employment in Nigeria.

The objective of the study includes determining the trend of youth employment and economic growth in Nigeria, to determine the promising economic sectors for job creation potential for young men and women in Nigeria.

Others are to analyse the differential impact of sectoral growth on youth employment across rural and urban areas as well as on gender lines, to identify key economic and political constraints to developing key sectors relevant for youth employment.

And to determine the specific conditions in Nigeria needed for local and foreign private sectors to invest in identified sectors.