ACCESS Nigeria, supported by the World Bank, will tests youths in Nigeria against a sample of worldwide scores that qualify for global outsourcing jobs. The test thus reflects employability by competitive global standards. Besides testing, the ACCESS program in Nigeria aims to boost the employability of graduates and job seekers in high-potential areas by linking skills training to immediate market needs. ACCESS Nigeria includes a 10-week modular training in communication, cognitive and computer skills. After successful candidates are certified, they are linked to potential employers in the services sector who have endorsed ACCESS.
The Government of Nigeria is paying attention to youth employability. The large turnout for the first round of the ACCESS Nigeria test reflects some important trends in Nigeria, which is now at a crossroads. The country’s non-oil economy is booming, driven by service sectors such as ICTs, finance, and banking. The ICT sector is growing at a rate of 30 percent, a pace second only to China. While there is a growing need for skilled employees in these sectors, about 46 percent of Nigeria’s young people (aged 18-24) are unemployed. The Nigerian government has prioritized jobs creation by setting up a new National Jobs Creation Scheme (NJCS). The government is also keen to tap into global ICT opportunities and has created an outsourcing framework for the country.
ACCESS Nigeria goes beyond testing to training and job placements. The Outsourcing Development Initiative of Nigeria (ODIN) is taking a lead role in linking ACCESS to industry and jobs. ODIN will hold roundtables in Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt to introduce firms and associations to the program and engage their interest in recruitment. To sustain the program long term, ODIN will anchor the assessment and certification component. A matching grant model will need to be activated to offer incentives to trainers, trainees, and hiring firms. ACCESS could eventually be deployed in the public sector too, with links to the civil services and the government’s e-services.
In March 2011, over 3,100 young Nigerians who came in to centers in five cities to take the ACCESS test. They had heard about it on Facebook, the radio, in print advertisements, on television, and on campus. Besides Kaduna State University, ACCESS tests were also hosted at the Digital Bridge Institute in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano, and at the University of Nigeria at Nsukka. About 37 percent of those who took the test were young women. Along with university and polytechnic graduates there were also candidates with no higher education at all.
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Quelle/Source: Microfinance Focus, 05.10.2011
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