Determined to reduce unemployment in Nigeria, an advocacy group, Employment Clinic on Tuesday organised a stakeholders meeting where government agencies and private investors operating in the nation’s maritime industry brainstormed with thousands of unemployed youths to see how 1 million job openings can be generated.
According to Ronke Kosoko, “When we say we want to create employment in one year, we need to understand that those jobs are actually there which all of us have been talking about in the last one decade.
“The ignition that is needed left and right is the strategic efforts by government at all levels, federal, state and across the littoral states that are going to spiral employment opportunities like I said. So, it is not us as an individual that is going to provide the jobs, it is a consortium of private sector working with the government where necessary.
“We are in the maritime industry and we have been talking for decades on these issue. Once the ministers and the maritime CEOs deliver powerful speeches, it ends there. Now, what we are doing is an action point. Certain things are over due for implementation. The government agencies need to do the right thing at the right time and these jobs will come out on their own.
“We are also looking at giving the necessary skills to the young people, that is why we are unveiling our maritime conversion program today. That is what that program is meant to take care of. ”
Also speaking during the programme, founding president of the Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Chief Isaac Jilapamo, explained that, achieving one milllion jobs from non-seafaring opportunities in the maritime industry is achievable.
“One million jobs being created from non-seafaring opportunities is achievable. These are shore-based people who have nothing to do in running ships.
“Of course, one million jobs is more than doable because if you remember those days, we talked of five millions jobs in the maritime industry.
“I can easily say yes, what we are gunning for today is doable in a very short period because this may not involve the politics that is associated with training of seafarers.
“We have to co-opt the maritime players but of course, they also have their own limitations with the current trends in the maritime industry. But I’m beginning to see a ray of hope coming very shortly,” he pointed out.
