FG to fight unemployment with N2b

The Federal Government has disclosed plans to expend a whopping N2 billion on fighting unemployment among educated Nigerian youths through the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) before year ending.

GIS Project Director, Dennis Chukwu, said the scheme, being funded by the Federal Ministry of Finance, has begun training of about 2,000 graduate interns across the country.

The scheme is on skills and career development that would make them employers of labour, rather than job seekers.

Chukwu, who spoke in Ado Ekiti, on Monday, during a Career Development and Entrepreneurship Skills Training for Interns, said President Muhammadu Buhari administration elected to sustain the scheme which exposed youths to trainings and opportunities in every sector of the economy in view of its commitment to banishing unemployment ravaging the youths.

GIS was initiated by the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.

Chukwu also said the scheme had exited 35,000 interns, with thousands of them securing jobs in the civil service and in the business sector and contributing immensely to the growth of the economy.

According to him, “Many secured credit facilities and grants through Youwin, and other sources to expand businesses they set up using GIS stipends and many have set up through cooperative associations, some of which have transformed into SMEs, rather than seeking for jobs, they are now employers.

“In view of its prospect for skills building and job creation, the scheme has developed special programmes for non-oil sector.

“GIS has entered into special partnerships with governmental and

non-governmental organizations to have graduate trained in ICT,

agriculture, community health, construction, financial inclusion and

the feedbacks of their performances with employers have been

encouraging”, he said.