By Opeoluwa.
Nigeria’s youth unemployment crisis is not merely a shortage of jobs,it is a critical shortage of character, practical skills, and workplace readiness.
Speaking on Lagos Television’s current affairs show The Conversation, centered on the theme “Building an Army of Employable Youths,” business consultant Vivian Ani, challenged the conventional belief that a sluggish economy is the sole driver of joblessness. With global remote work breaking down geographic barriers, she argued that opportunities exist, but millions of graduates leave school armed with degrees that fail to meet modern market demands.
According to Ani, the employability crisis begins long before a graduate enters the job market among Overprotective Parenting and Outdated Curricula
Ani warned graduates against treating postgraduate degrees as a shelter from the tough job hunt, emphasizing that another certificate without practical experience rarely improves hiring odds. Instead, she urged young professionals to seek internships, entry-level immersion, and volunteer roles to build credibility and demonstrated competence.
While technical expertise can be trained quickly, Ani noted that poor workplace attitudes and character flaws are nearly impossible for employers to fix.
To secure long-term economic stability, she called for an end to the social stigma surrounding high-earning blue-collar vocations like plumbing, masonry, and electrical installations, while pushing corporate-track professionals to master artificial intelligence and non-automated, creative problem-solving skills
