Dr Chris Ngige

The Federal Government has advised unemployed graduates who are seeking government jobs to look elsewhere, saying there are more sustainable lucrative ventures outside their focus.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said this during a Townhall Meeting on Popularisation of blue/green collar jobs among graduates of tertiary institutions in Nigeria, which was held in Benin, Edo State.

A statement signed by the Deputy Director/Head of Press at the ministry, Charles Akpan, said the minister, who was represented at the event by the Director, Special Duties and Projects Department in the ministry, Martina Nwordu, reminded the youths that the wealthiest youths in the world at present were not government employees.

The statement said, “The minister also urged Nigerian youths to invest their talent in other job sectors, as the richest youth of the world, aged between 21 and 31 years, are not employees of government but smart entrepreneurs who distinguished themselves in creative skills in various areas.

“The minister disclosed that the purpose of the meeting, which held concurrently in four other geo-political zones of the federation, was to sensitise representatives of key stakeholders in graduate employment on the benefits of blue/green-collar jobs as an alternative response to the challenges of graduate unemployment.”
The statement added that the minister said the meeting was part of the activities in the Graduate Employability Enhancement Scheme, which was an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on how to break the resilience of high unemployment rate in the country.

While urging the unemployed graduates, parents, career counsellors, students of tertiary institutions to embrace the profitable opportunities offered by jobs outside government offices, Ngige said such opportunities had the capacity to give high income, self-dignity and esteemed self-worth.