HOW MECHANIZATION WILL SOLVE UNEMPLOYMENT PROBLEM | SUGGESTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS



One of the steps taken by the Nigerian government to reduce the problem of unemployment in Nigeria was the establishment of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), which was established in November 22,1986. The objective of NDE was to promptly and effectively fight unemployment by designing and implementing innovative programmes, which are directed towards the provision of training opportunities through the guidance and management support services to graduate farmers and small scale entrepreneurs.
The objectives of NDE spanned across the following programmes: 100 European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences- Issue 11 (2008)    
·        Agricultural development programme
·        Youth employment  and vocational skills development programme
·        Special public works
·        Small scale industries and graduate employment programme

The aim of the agricultural programme is to generate employment for graduates, non-graduates and school leavers in the Agricultural sector, with emphasis on self employment in agricultural production and marketing. The programme is monitored by a team of Agricuatural professionals in the Agricultural department of the directorate. However, factors which includes inadequate funding and late release of funds from the federation account among others have impaired the effectiveness of the NDE agricultural programmes (Chinedum, 2006).  I recommend the informal sector as a medium of reducing unemployment in Nigeria, while outlining some of the pointers needed in making the objectives achievable. The National Economic Employment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) was introduced in March 2004, in order to confront the various macroeconomic imbalances social challenges and structural problems in the Nigerian Economy. One of the principal goals is to build a modern Nigerian that maximizes the potential of every citizen so as to become the largest and strongest African economy, and a force to be reckoned with in the world. To achieve this goal, NEEDS, as a development strategies anchored on the private sector is to engineer wealth creation, employment generation and poverty reeducation, however, for  NEEDS to achieve its objectives there’s need to design many integrated programmes that can generate employment for women and youths to enhance growth and development (Adebayo, 2006). As it is a medium- termed reform based development strategy, and action plan for the period 2003-2007, the impact of NEEDS is yet to be felt, in combating unemployment problems and this further point to the need to seek help in the informal sector in order to drastically reduce unemployment.      

OTHER POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
            The responsibility of Universities in training students is not limited to imparting academic skills. It should include training the individuals to be disciplined by instilling in them those society’s desirable human characteristics such as honesty, hard work and loyalty. There have been, constantly, calls from different arms of the society for a look at the problem of the increasing unemployment rate in Nigeria. Provision of employment opportunities to all graduates is a means of ensuring participation of all in the national development process. In order to eradicate unemployment and poverty, the Nigerian Government under the former leadership of President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR reiterated the need to approach the issues of employment generation from a systemic point of view. Hence, this informed the invitation of the Federal Government to the International Labour Organization in 2001 to understudy the Nigerian labour market with a view to recommending strategies for a holistic turnaround of the nation’s economy. Furthermore, Mr. President approached UNESCO, for assistance in the reform of Nigerian’s Science and Technology and Innovation System. A principal component of this reform is the promotion of entrepreneurship in Nigerian Post Basic Education Sector. The Higher Education Sector in complementing the effort of government and in compliance with the directives of Mr. President introduced a training module on entrepreneurship with a view to giving students basic knowledge and skills in enterprise development and management. The massive introduction of entrepreneurial education in our university curricula was also a precursor to the establishment of Entrepreneurial Study, Innovation, and Career Advisory Centers in Nigerian Higher Education Institutions (HELs).

CONCLUSION
From this study, employment generation has been seen as a means of alleviating poverty, increasing the level of economic activities which translate into economic growth. The Nigerian Government in previous times had put in place policies and programmes which are meant to combat this menace, few of which are considered in this study, but up till now these programmes have not made much impact. We therefore examine how unemployment can be reduced, by expanding the activities of the informal sector. Although the informal sector has its challenges, which revolves round the inaccessibility of credit to finance its activities, but there is a glimmer of hope, considering the on-going policy of the Federal Government through the Central Bank of Nigeria, on microfinance, which has 105 European Journal of Economics, Finance and Administrative Sciences Issue II (2008) brought microfinance banking into the limelight making it a more realistic programme. It is hoped that if the microfinance programme continues to enjoy the support and regulatory framework it presently enjoys from Government and stakeholders, it will no longer be crippled by lack of fund, while the employment generation and job creation goals of the millennium also become a reality.
Finally, the Nigeria business community and the government are not innovative in creating jobs. There is no reason why businesses and government should not establish call centers and websites where people can phone in to seek information about vacancies available in private and public establishments. This idea can generate thousands of jobs for Nigerians. Elsewhere in the world, emerging institutional adaptations to the problems of labour market mismatch include the formation of “knowledge coalitions” with other knowledge producing centres in society. Hence, the establishment of more effective labour market information systems and centre that are linked to career counseling in universities and greater private sector involvement in curriculum consultation, faculty attachments, student placements, and research funding are very important to reduce the graduate unemployment rate in Nigeria.

SUGGESTION
Clark (2001) suggests that university departments will need to change their curricula every two or three years in order to ensure that the content of their teaching reflects the rapidly advancing frontiers of scientific knowledge and the global market. Furthermore, employers are increasingly demanding new curricula that include skill standards and perhaps even vendor-specific certifications that are not typically included in traditional university curricula. These employers do not trust that the traditional, faculty-developed curriculum will meet their needs especially in the area of information technology as different companies now adopt new vendor products and then search for individuals who have mastered the technology.

RECOMMENDATION
I hereby recommend the informal sector as a medium of reducing unemployment in Nigeria and advice that government and all relevant stakeholders continue in their quest towards reducing unemployment, as well as give their support in ensuring that the informal sector is not downtrodden but embraced in this task.

REFERENCES
Adebayo, A(1999).”Youth unemployment and the National Directorate of
Employment, Self-employment programmmes”. The Nigerian Journal of economic and social studies.

Adebayo, A. and ogunrinola, I.O (2006)”contemporary dimensions of
Unemployment problem in Nigeria: a special challenge under the National economic empowerment and development strategy”. NES 2006, Ibadan, Nigeria.

Ademu, W.A (2006) “the informal sector and employment generation in
Nigeria: the role of credit”.NES 2006 Annual conference.

Akintoye, I.R (2006) ‘enhancing the performance of the informal sector for
Economic development of Nigeria: a case study of Lagos State” International Journal of Social Sciences, vol. 5 no 1, pp100-112

Dabalen, Andrew., bankole oni and olatunde adekola. (2001). Labour
Market prospects for university graduates in nigeria, higher education Policy 14,141-159.

Egwu, F.C and Eje, B.E (2004), published in Nigeria by Cheston agency
Limited.
Federal Republic of Nigeria. 1997. national employment policy framework. ILO/East Africa Multidisciplinary Advisory Team. Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia.
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