
This short presentation gives you in-depth information about the Nigerian employment industry and how Nigerians in diaspora or foreign citizens willing to build a career in the country can throw a good first leg on the Nigerian soil.
Nigerian Job Opportunities for Investors
Nigeria is a country blessed with various mineral resources. It is one of the big five of Africa. It has a population of over 160 million. It is believed that a country blessed with so many natural resources should not be affected with the challenges of jobs. The availability of jobs in Nigeria is quite encouraging. Although, the demand for jobs is higher than what is available to the public, the country still boasts of business opportunities for prospective investors and job seekers. Statistics shows that every year, there are more business opportunities than ever. The country makes it possible for someone who finishes in a tertiary school in a particular field of study to work in a firm or position different from what he has spent four or five years to study in higher institution. Take as an example, a person who studied Agricultural Science in a tertiary institution may end up working in the bank, a financial sector if he is deemed qualified with professional certificates. No doubt, there are flexibilities in area of employment.
The most lucrative job in Nigeria is the oil sector. Nigeria is one of the leading oil producing countries in the world. She is blessed with this natural resource abundantly. This has brought a lot of foreign investors into the country to help in exploring and exporting crude oil. The financial sector also provides jobs opportunities for would-be-investor. Banking jobs are what most people end up doing. However, a white collar job as it is usually referred to in the country is not easy to come by. After much effort without any success, some graduates may settle for driving jobs, others go into trading, having a store and going into buying and selling. A case study was in few years on the news, when a leading manufacturing company in Nigeria gave a job opening for Masters Degree holders to apply as truck drivers for the firm. This shows that in the absence of a dream job, there are other types of jobs that are equally doing well and which anyone looking for job in Nigeria can key into.
The telecommunications sector also provides means of employment. One of the challenges in getting these jobs is that they are not always advertised in the papers. If anyone wants to get the job, he must have someone inside the company who would tip him off about the time when the firm is recruiting.
To apply for any Nigerian jobs, a secular job to be precise, a person has to have gone to a tertiary institution. The school system of Nigeria has various level of certificates awarded. Some job openings would stipulate a minimum certificate required to get the job. Certificates given in tertiary schools in Nigeria are such as Ordinary National Diploma, Higher National Diploma, Bachelors of Science certificates, Masters Degree and other higher certificates.
Coming out of an institution with a first class degree used to be a thing of pride. In times past, it is a surety to get a job in Nigeria. Most times, the universities such ones graduated often from retain them, if they wish to continue in academic line of job. However, the case is kind of different now, seeing a first class degree holder still in search of a job. Even if there is the desire to stay in the field of academics, he is not retained. He is being told to wait, for there are some persons ahead of him who are on queue. It is quite appalling!
Despite the demand for job, foreign investors and job seekers can still take advantage of various opportunities in many sectors. As we mentioned above, the population of those needing job in the country is more than the jobs created. So as a result of this, there is fierce competition in getting a job. Skills are also required to get most of the jobs, especially in engineering sector. The more suggested approach to getting a job in Nigeria is to be self-employed. Self employment is the best form of job obtainable in Nigeria. Job security in those private establishments is not guaranteed. Few months ago, it was published on a Nigerian newspaper that one of the popular banks in the country lay off about a thousand staffs. Similar situation also arises in other private establishments. Only government establishments bring a level of security, but to get it, a long wait is needed for new job openings. The government of the country is trying its best to create more jobs in other sectors such as agriculture and the likes. It is believed that in the near future, there would be more Nigerian jobs available to job seekers. Getting a job or investing in some important economic sectors in Nigeria is too difficult though. With much effort and continuous determination, that dream job can be realized.