This article is intended to be the first in a series that tend to look into the employment situation in the nation.The focal point of the series is to delve into the possible ways the three (3) major stakeholders- the employer; the government and the 'prospective' employees [which, for the purpose of this write-up, include the unemployed and the underemployed]- have influenced the state of employment in the nation today.

The nation is definitely faced with many challenges and aside corruption, unemployment is another profound challenge that the nation is currently battling as there have been a surge in the rate of unemployment over the years- based on the data made available by the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate among youths, is over 40% and generally over 14% when the entire labour force is put in perspective. It is really a huge problem to have such high percentage of youths lounging around- the nation loses its productive energy and the economy is subsequently adversely affected.

The reality before Us
I will like to paint the reality facing us as a 3-level adjoining band: at the base, which is ever expanding, have an army of prospects yearning to enter into the labour market; in the middle [which is very much constricted] we have the employees (underemployed and adequately employed) and at the top, we have the 'retired', 'retrenched' and those who resigned in order to seek greener pastures hence falling into the category of the 'prospective' employees once again. So, one will see that so much weight and/or pressure is exerted upon the middle band (the labour market) from the top and the bottom of the adjoining band. It needs no brainstorming to see that something is wrong and thus it is necessary to make a move. But the question is: who should make the move [at this very moment]? -My answer: the prospective employees...why?

Where we find ourselves today is a function of our actions and inactions in the past and it is foolhardy to think that we can continue to do things the way we used to and expect things to get better. Rephrasing Albert Einstein quote, Mensa Ottabil, once said: "we cannot solve a problem by using the same level of thinking we used when they were created". First and foremost, one area of concern is the fact that we have been made to believe that good grades and/or going to school guarantee and secure a good placement in the labour market but this is not always the case. Hence, to break free, the mentality of solely limiting ourselves to the scope of our credentials should be extirpated.

Another thinking of ours, especially the youths of this generation, is to leave things to others- placing their destinies in the hands of external factors like budget, government actions and such likes- and failing to utilize their inborn abilities. This act has often left the prospective employees with series of complaints with no way forward...according to Jim Rohn: ..."learn to be self-reliant so that you will never complain and never explain." However, being 'self-reliant' does not necessarily equate to being 'a tree in a forest" but rather that you stand up and do something- adding value- for yourself and surely, you cannot leave people if you are setting up your enterprise.

The youths of the day
Fortunately, the youths of the day form the core of prospective employees of today but unfortunately, they are not gainfully employed and are even in immense competitions [whether directly or indirectly] with the older ones for job placements. The unsavoury conditions are not helped by the fact these youths now engage in activities that add little or no value to them or the society in which they live: cultism; addiction to drugs and even entertainment and social media [whereby they give so much attention to pleasures and forget that they have a life of purpose to live], etc. These things tend to efface creativity thereby make them and the society 'poor' and irrelevant.

Furthermore, while interviewing job seekers, I have to notice some trends which boil down to:
Failure to plan: Most often than not prospective employees tend to wait until the end of their school years before making tangible plans on life after...they seem to be absorbed in the saying: 'when we get to the bridge, we will cross' without pausing to ask: 'what do I do should the bridge be non-existing?
Lack of Confidence: Here is another noticeable in my conversation with job seekers. Quite a few of them have some things they do but they find it difficult to talk about their innovations. This, I believe, is in part due to the revenue generated from such business...and here is one reason one should not make money one's greatest motivation. Should they exercise some degree of confidence [and persistence], they will be able to push their products and services and subsequently ease off the pressure on the labour market.

The effective solution
Firstly, the prospective employees have got to realize the fact that the industrial age is waning out gradually and technology has already replaced [and will still replace] human in the workspace to some extent. The era we are in now is that of entrepreneurship and maybe information age, as some will say. Each and everyone of us has a potential that is lying latent on the inside and this is the era of implementing your inner resources...like I will always say: "It is not greener on the other side, it is greener on the inside". The solution [from the part of the prospective employees] is evolve from the old age and key into the era we are in at the moment- they have got to start making up plans on how to become employers of labour in the next few years.