One Thousand Nine Hundred graduates from 35 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) have been provided job opportunities by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) through its Graduate Attachment Programme (GAP).
NDE’s Head Information and Public Relations Israel Adekitan said this I a statement Tuesday in Abuja.
It said the proportion of the whole figure is fifty (50) graduates as beneficiaries from each of the 36 States of the Federation including the FCT, Abuja and the national grid.
It said Director-General NDE Mallam Abubakar Nuhu Fikpo said the Graduate Attachment Programme was designed as part of the mandate of NDE to address the alarming level of graduate unemployment owing to skills mismatch.
He added that the programme offers opportunities to provide those willing with requisite skills to take up available jobs within corridor of transient jobs.
“Today’s global economy is complex, to compete effectively, Nigerian youths, especially the unemployed, needs technical and vocational skills that will produce a flexible workforce that can adjust to rapid shift in demand.
“It is instructive to know that demand for job specific skills has been growing around the world, globally, firms are saying that the quality and supply of skilled labour is a major roadblock to their growth, the challenges of skills mismatch is global,” the DG said.
The NDE DG also said unemployed graduates wishing to benefit from the programme must have completed the mandatory one year national service with the National Youth service Corps (NYSC).
The statement also said under the programme, “participants are attached to corporate organizations of their field of discipline on pupilage for a period between three and six months.
“By so doing, the interns position themselves to develop specific skills on the job experience; they make themselves relevant on the available jobs having gained requisite practical skills over a period of time.”
Fikpo also said “the desired result of participating in GAP programme by young unemployed graduates is to confer a competitive edge where experience is required for full employment and for their retention in organization where they have served since the exposure allows the employers a full assessment of the intern’s job potentials.”
The statement also noted that “Participants of Graduate Attachment Programme enjoys stipend of N20,000 monthly while the organizations they serve with are also implored to complement the efforts of the Federal Government while at work.”
In her contribution, Director Special Public Works Mrs. Olaomi Silvia Roseline said: “NDE over the years has assisted many unemployed graduates to secure good jobs through GAP.”
A total of 21,688 direct and indirect jobs were created for the graduates of higher learning through the Graduate Attachment Programme in year 2021.