Contrary to some employers’ views that Nigerian fresh graduates are not employable, a Human Resources consultant with Doheney Services, Jessica Akano, says they are employable, blaming employers for not giving them the opportunity to prove their worth.
She said that companies in Nigeria were fond of specifying certain number of year’s job experience for people they intend to employ, thereby making it difficult for fresh graduates to come in.
“How would they know that they should be skilled in one particular area when they have not been given the opportunity to work?” she questioned.
“There are credible graduates out there but some companies do not go out of their way to employ the services of Human Resources firms to help get credible candidates. They are out there but are the companies willing to go out there and get them?”
In his own opinion, the Chief Executive Officer of Conceptual Strategy, Emmanuel Tarfa, stressed that the government was not doing enough to improve the standard of Education.
He pointed out that the lack of infrastructure – power and internet penetration – was also taking its toll on the quality of research that an individual could carry out to improve himself.
“If the environment and the system are not conducive, there is no way a student will be able to study well,” he said.
However, he said that in consulting, it was difficult to get skilled people, looking at the required skill sets – strategic thinking, problem solving, elements of business analysis, being conversant with local and external environment.
“These are not the things you take out of a university. So many graduates do things that they should not do but they think that it is strategic. It is difficult for us because we have to train them.”
On how the standard of Nigerian graduates could be improved, he said that “Nigeria is 12 years away from fixing its educational system”.
“We only need an intervention at this point. It is almost like a state of emergency. I see the things and my heart bleeds about it. I am glad that you are raising the issue now because we have so many young Nigerians that are graduate and without job and if things continue that way we will have crisis”.
He suggested that the government should revamp the educational system in Nigeria by getting private companies to focus more on training people in practical skills.
