Relying
on the principles of division of labour
as enunciated in elementary economics, which stipulates that production process
is to be divided into parts or stages, to be handled by different
professionals, Nigerian graduates from various disciplines in this circumstance
undoubtedly, will have high hopes while graduating. Specifically, he/she will
expect that:
i.
Jobs/employments
must be waiting for him/her to take up since the various production processes
are fashioned out for diverse professionals to man. Every discipline could
therefore be accommodated within the production processes.
ii.
That there
will be abundance of opportunities for self employment and development backed
with cash/finances waiting for him/her, going by the oil wealth that we have
discovered and been relying on since the early sixties.
Whereas
the Nigerian graduate’s expectations are as summarized in (i) and (ii) above,
hinged on his/her perception of how the situation outside school should be, the
current global realities present something different from what the ordinary
belief of the Nigerian graduate would be. The current realities are as listed
here-under:
i.
The world has
moved to the Information age where the success or otherwise of any citizen of a
society depends on how deep and diverse his knowledge is of a variety of
issues. In the world of today, the more a graduate knows, the higher the
chances of his/her success in the enlarged society.
ii.
Vocational
Skills are now the fast becoming lucrative ventures. We now live in a world
where people make millions on just a simple skill as make-up. You can imagine
how much Mrs. Tara Fela-Durotoye makes from her knowledge of make-up, quite a common
skill amongst women you would say!
iii.
Emphasis has
shifted from job-seeking to entrepreneurship, from work-for-pay to work-for-profit.
As Bill Newman wrote in his book ‘The Road to Success’, “it is better to work
100 hours for yourself than work 40 hours for someone else”. It means the
recent global reality is that of people working for themselves and for nobody
else – self employment.
iv.
It is now economically unwise for the government of
any country to employ all her graduates and school leavers. This fact is
premised on the fact that government relies on Internally Generated Revenue to continue
discharging its functions. However, this IGR is raised from taxes paid by
corporate bodies, import duty, foreign exchange etc. We could say, the cause of
the recent global economic crisis was basically over-burdening of governments. America
Based
on the aforementioned global realities, the Nigerian economy has in stock for
graduating students, things different from the graduates’ original and ‘ideal’
expectations. These are:
i.
That
graduating students will abhor career immobility and swing into a state of
career mobility which elementary economics describe as ‘occupational mobility’.
This concept preaches inevitable need for every individual to be broad-based in
skill acquisition rather than confine self to a single profession. This means,
the success of a graduating student in the Nigerian economy will require more
than the knowledge of his course of study alone. In the event that he/she can
not secure employment in his/her area of specialization, he/she will become
unemployable in other areas of the economy if his/her course of study is the
knowledge he/she carries. Aside that, all establishments (government and
private), now require ‘utility staff’ i.e. an employee that can be effective
even in other areas aside the area to which he was employed.
ii.
The Nigerian
Economy has in stock for a graduating student – CONDUCIVE ATMOSPHERE FOR
INVESTMENT which is the global phenomenon. Governments at the three tiers are
focused on provision of conducive atmosphere for investment, self employment
and job creation for others. This is in a bid to ensure the employment of her
teeming graduates while simultaneously increasing revenue for the government. Thus,
they are wooing foreign investors and sensitizing their to engage in self
employment and job creation, promising financial support or guaranteeing bank
facilities/micro-credit loans.
iii.
The Nigerian
Economy also has in stock for her graduates, OPPORTUNITY FOR SKILL TRAINING AND
RE-TRAINING in all areas, to further equip young graduates for self employment
and job creation. It is now expected that an individual with Higher Education
Certificate could be equipped with skills in other fields of human endeavor
within the shortest possible time and at lesser cost. This explains the huge
presence of various training and professional organizations in the country,
aiming at human capacity development for graduates.
iv.
That
graduating students should only apply in hope for only few jobs that may become
vacant in government rather than in unfailing expectation. The current economic
situation is such that government is heavily relying on the citizens for its
continued success and so, citizens can not so heavily rely on government. A
testimony to this fact is the increasing presence of billboards reading “Please
Pay your Tax” in every nook and cranny of the country. Sign posts to revenue
offices are so conspicuous that even a blind man can see them, this simply
because government relies more on the people than the people can rely on her.
v.
The Nigerian
Economy welcomes graduates into a field of practical as the principles required
to succeed in the enlarged society are deeper than the theoretical lessons
learnt in the institutions of learning. A graduate thus have to buckle up and
integrate him/herself into the world of reality.
WHAT
SHOULD GRADUATING STUDENTS DO?
1.
Graduating
Students must first conduct what is referred to in management as SWOT-Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats). The Strengths
of a graduating student are those skills and knowledge he has acquired that
stands him out as someone the society needs. Weaknesses will include the shortcomings in his know-how, what and
what he does not know as much as he should. Opportunities will include the chances available for him based on
the strengths that he has and threats
will include the chances he might lose by his inability to master certain
skills and overcome his weaknesses. The SWOT-Analysis is quite important for a
graduate to identify the exact position he stands in the Nigerian economic
situation.
2.
Graduating
students should strive to enlist self in skill acquisition programmes and
professional courses to further boost their capacity.
3.
Identify potentials,
generate business and entrepreneurial ideas and sought for financing.
4.
Graduating
students must give themselves to extensive reading to tap from the experiences
of such writers in economic and financial issues (books by Robert T. Kiyosaki, Richard
Templar, Dale Carnegie, Ben Carson, Bob Eldridge, Dave Ule
etc are good sources of knowledge for graduating students).
5.
Look for and
attend workshops relevant to your interest.
6.
Conduct a
personal 4-P (Price, Place,
Promotion and Product) analysis on self. The price in this case refers to how much value the graduating student
places on him/herself, talking of self esteem, human capacity etc. I should let
you know that the difference in levels attained by various individuals is
marked by the difference in their value system, while some aim for ultimate
success, some only value stipends that will come from menial jobs, a graduating
students should check his value system. Place
refers to the location which the graduating student feel is most conducive for
him/her to achieve his set targets. A good target in a wrong location is like a
shoemaker producing shoes in the country of the lame. Promotion refers to how well the graduating student presents
himself. A good idea presented badly or rather ‘packaged’ badly will fail. This
packaging even includes mode of dressing, manner of speaking etc. Product refers to the capacity of the
graduating student himself. A bad product (an ignorant graduate – by ignorant I
mean lacking the knowledge of the current global realities as have been
discussed earlier) can not get a job nor succeed in business no matter the
location or value or dressing. An empty barrel is empty no matter the paint on
the outside. Thus, graduating students should seek to stuff as much knowledge
as possible in themselves to stand a chance at success in the Nigerian and
global society.
It is
my honest belief, that Nigerian graduates and graduating students will take the
bull by the horn and utilize the lessons inherent in this concise article
towards achieving success in their labour market endeavors.
Thank
you.
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