Jobberman, the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa, has partnered with the Nigerian Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in a bid to train 120,000 youth corpers a year. The free soft skills training course, now synonymous with the Jobberman name, will take place in NYSC camps across 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). The revered national institution, which focuses on bringing thousands of youth together from around Nigeria, provides a pivotal step for Jobberman in tackling the enormity of unemployment and underemployment issues amongst the country’s 100 million youth.
According to recent figures, the youth unemployment rate in Nigeria is as high as 14.2% and underemployment between the ages of 15 to 34 rose to 57% in Q2 of 2020. Having the sixth-largest youth population in the world, with over 300,000 young people entering the jobs market each month, is making securing dignified employment increasingly more challenging and competitive. However, employability continues to be a determining factor as research shows that hard skills only contributes to 15% of success in obtaining a job, whereas soft skills make up 85%. Soft skills bridge the gap between education and employment, as a result, candidates are more equipped for the workplace.
The National Services Corps’ annual one-year programme to steer youth capacity development, whilst also fostering cultural and social cohesion, is perfectly matched with Jobberman’s focus on upskilling 5 million young people and placing 3 million in dignified employment by 2025. This is part of the company’s mandate through the Young Nigeria Works project in partnership with Mastercard Foundation. The technology-driven company advocates the importance of democratising the jobs market by placing 100% of job opportunities online, as well as creating a transparent labour market to drastically improve workplace productivity. With over 60,000 employers on the platform to be connected with, the leading recruitment website will train NYSC members in areas such as emotional intelligence, personal effectiveness, and presentation skills. In turn, presenting employable candidates to some of Nigeria’s most reputable companies.
Speaking on the partnership, Rolake Rosiji, CEO of Jobberman Nigeria said, “NYSC resonates with all Nigerians and is a homegrown partnership that Jobberman is very proud to have established; the significance of which will be transformational for the country’s youth and economy. Aligning with an organisation such as NYSC, which has built a reputation of nurturing the development of young Nigerians to enhance the country, is in line with Jobberman’s mission to create a dynamic and skilled workforce to help it reach its full potential.”
In February 2021, Jobberman successfully piloted the program and trained 35 NYSC schedule officers at the Lagos camp, before the partnership launched the first of its three-week camps in April.
Mr Rasak Salawu, Director of CDS and Special Projects, NYSC says “Jobberman’s partnership with NYSC will drive youth employment across states through hybrid and digitally enabled training. This will be an opportunity provided to graduates of different schools and backgrounds in Nigeria and abroad.”
The Jobberman soft skills training program has so far upskilled over 100,000 young people since launching in May 2020, at the height of the pandemic, and has placed 60% of those that have completed the course in dignified employment. The training programme is free for all young people in Nigeria and will be running indefinitely. Interested parties can sign up here.
