NECA Offers Panacea To Unemployment Crisis

The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) has called for strategic interventions in Small and Medium Enterprises (MSEs) and skill development to address the nation’s unemployment crisis.

Mr. Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, Director General of NECA, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Oyerinde said that job creation cannot happen by chance but through deliberate policies that foster business growth and skills development.

He stressed that the government must provide the enabling environment for the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive and encourage skills acquisition among the youths.

“The country needs an environment where skills development can take centre stage.

Also, the government must continue to enable the private sector to thrive.

“We should ensure that we retain investments while making conscious efforts to attract more investments,” he said.

Oyerinde commended the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment for its proposed census of MSMEs, saying it would provide crucial data for targeted support and economic planning.

According to him, Nigeria must move beyond the traditional focus on university degrees and invest more in technical skill development.

He also called for initiatives, such as the NECA-ITF Technical Skills Development Project as models that should be expanded to equip more Nigerians with market-ready skills.