Despite challenges of high youth unemployment rates in the country, Nigerians especially the young people have been urged to embrace attitudinal change and modern thinking to create as well as harness opportunities for themselves without waiting for government’s solutions to provide jobs.
Dissecting the theme, “Positioning for Value Proposition’’, at the 2023 Employability Fair, organised by the JCI Lagos Metropolitan, panelists urged Nigerian youths to embrace a paradigm shift in their quest to job-seeking.
The pioneering chapter of the JCI in Nigeria organised the event to mark this year’s Worker’s Day, which was held on Monday at the Olutayo Aderinokun Memorial Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka.
The 2023 Chapter President of JCI Lagos Metropolitan, Mrs. Busayo Adegoke said that the theme aligned with the prevailing realities of the youths in a cosmopolitan city like Lagos where, despite the state’s lowest unemployment rate of 7.6 per cent when compared with neighbouring states like Oyo (8.8 per cent) and Ogun (9.9 per cent), the unemployment rate can be regarded as being relatively low. However, with no unemployment benefits, people within this circle of employment are streamlined along the formal economy, paying taxes, or alternatively those who are forced to work illegally in the informal sector.
According to Adegoke, 40 per cent of the workforce are employed in informal jobs such as waste recycling at places like Olusosun landfill site, car-washing and street vending centres. These jobs are often dangerous, poorly paid, unregulated and mostly considered exclusive areas for uneducated, largely unskilled and the bottom of the pyramid unemployed citizenry of the state, she said.
Adegoke further observed that, in a state with huge proclivity for high crime rate, especially those involving age-long menaces including drugs, vandalism and theft, corruption, bribery, assault and armed robbery, and kidnapping for financial inducements, these variety of unskilled jobs have helped in stemming the tides of unemployment and consequently reduced the high crime rates attractions and vulnerabilities cross the state.
In his keynote presentation, the Regional Sales Manager (South South) at LaFarge, Mr. Olawale Bakare dwelt on the imperativity of knowledge of self, vision, talents, creativity, adaptability, dynamism and leveraging technology in the age as components that drives career goals faster in this age.
Bakare, the immediate past National President of the JCI Nigeria, dwelt copiously on his personal experience based on his transition from a trained legal professional to evolving into a creative sales and marketing executive where he has been able to make his career mark competitively and relevance.
He said: ‘’It’s no doubt important to be academically educated in this age, but accessing the limited opportunities in the work space which is also competitive requires much more than academic qualifications if one intends to be above board. To imagine that I studied Law both as an undergraduate (LL.B) and went ahead to pursue a post graduate degree (LL.M). I even went ahead and worked briefly in one of the most reputable law firms in Nigeria, Babalakin & Co Law Firm. But, I have since transformed into a sales executive, and that is where I have built a professional career over time”.
The Fair featured the Chief Executive Officer of Workforce, Mr. Foluso Aribisala; Chief Executive Officer of Jobberman, Mr. OreOluwa Boboye; Co-Founder/Chief Operating Officer of Terawork, Mrs. Titi Taiwo; Lead Consultant of Eden Care and Resourcing Limited, Mr. Mike Adekambi; and Founder, Careers and Business Everything (CABE), Mr. Ayodeji Faleto.
Other speakers shared innovative case studies and experiences leading up to their current positions in life and for which they were able to build the various human resources organisations that are creating new jobs opportunities and driving positive change across industries that shake up traditional business models.
A Past President of the JCI Lagos Metropolitan, Mr. Adebayo Adeoshun encouraged the participants to focus inward, especially in individual skills and talents, for which they derive passion and fulfilment as those are often neglected pointers to the essence of their career calling and personal self-fulfillment. Adeoshun, who is also Chief Strategy Officer of RZKG, cited personal stories of Kelechi Amadi-Obi and Toyin Sokefun (professionally known as TY Bello in the photography space in Nigeria) as well as several others across related fields.
The summit provided a special session handled by Faleto, where he dealt extensively with creative approaches to writing wining resumes and cover letters for both advertised and unadvertised jobs.
The summit was rounded up with an on-site interview and recruitment sessions by the staff of the major human resources, talents hunt and recruitment organisations, including Workforce, Jobberman, Terawork, and Eden Care and Resourcing Limited respectively for the job hunting participants that graced the summit.
Among the guest were 2023 General Legal Counsel of JCI Nigeria, Mr. Adeyanju Adeonipekun; past presidents of JCI Lagos Metropolitan, Mrs. Wunmi Akinwande, Mr. Deji Akinwande and Mr. Siji Oyebolu; 2023 President, JCI Victoria Island, Mr. Idris Soetan; Mr. Shehu Ishola, Mr. Abiodun Francis, Mr. John Fedejola, as well as young Nigerians across other walks of life across the special needs areas of the employment focus of the project.
JCI Lagos Metropolitan is the pioneering chapter of the JCI Nigeria. Better known as The Doyen, it was founded in Lagos in 1957 and has been at the forefront and epicentre of various personal human development initiatives engendered toward exceptional business and management leadership, community development, and general enhancement of their community.
