FG partners coy to provide quality employment for Nigerians

Right: The Minister of industry, Trade and Investment, during the signing of MoU between the ministry and UTEL ltd on Tuesday in Abuja.

Published By: Ayorinde Oluokun

Lucy Nwachukwu

Economy
FG partners coy to provide quality employment for Nigerians

Employment

By Lucy Ogalue

The Federal Government is partnering with Unique Talent Export Limited (UTEL Ltd.) to connect Nigerians to foreign jobs in Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Scandinavian countries, among others.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, said this at the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the ministry and the UTEL ltd on Tuesday in Abuja.

Anite assured the partners of Nigeria’s commitment to upskilling its talent pool to power the Federal Government’s industrial revitalisation plan and provide skilled citizens with global talent opportunities.

She expressed the country’s delight at exporting its culture and heritage to the outside world while reiterating that Nigeria was filled with talents.

The National Talent Export Programme (NATEP), coordinated by Dr Femi Adeluyi, would execute the project.

According to the minister, the signing of the MoU marks another milestone in the Federal Government’s efforts to ensure that Nigerians have access to quality employment opportunities.

“These employment opportunities can be direct employment and emigration of our talents or utilisation of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model for gainful and meaningful employment for those based in Nigeria.

“Through NATEP, Nigeria can honourably export her talents in a mutually beneficial and reputation-preserving way, ending illegal migration and the country’s embarrassment.

“The MoU was signed with UTEL Ltd, a Nigerian subsidiary of Unique Agency Kuwait – a leading provider of expatriate employees for the government agencies and departments in the State of Kuwait,” she said.

Anite said the partnership with UTEL would aggregate foreign jobs for Nigerians from Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

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According to her, this aligns with the Federal Government’s aim to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with nations and global institutions to facilitate the provision of jobs for Nigerians.

Anite welcomed the pronouncement from the partners for openings of about two hundred and fifty foreign jobs for Nigerians.

She said Nigerians in the diaspora were known to rise like cream to the top of their professions, and data validated this notion.

“For example, research from the Migration Policy Institute Washington-DC indicates that more than half of Nigerian immigrants (54 per cent) are likely to occupy management positions.

“This is compared with 32 per cent of other immigrants and 39 per cent of the U. S. -born population.

“Similarly, the 2021 Office for National Statistics Report from the United Kingdom (UK) showed that 44 per cent of adult residents born outside the UK have some form of qualification.

” Compared to 31 per cent of UK-born residents, while 66 per cent of Nigerian immigrants have received one form of qualification or another,” she said.

According to Anite, this shows the quality that Nigerians can bring.

She said: “In efforts to promote talents, services exports and managed migration, the MoU specified a `1+2’ approach for the partnership.

“With this approach, for every Nigerian selected for a foreign job through NATEP, the partners will commit to helping connect an outsourced role to the Nigerian BPO ecosystem.

“And also support in training the selected Nigerians to refresh the local workforce.”

The minister then expressed optimism for similar partnerships and collaborations with other countries.

Dignitaries such as Mr Athbi Al-Awadi from Kuwait, Mr Tahir Hashim from Oman, and Advokat Knutsen from Norway, among others, attended the event. (NAN)