News: Federal Government Targets One Million Jobs Through Growth Employment Project

The Federal Government targets between 600,000 and one million jobs within the next three years through the Growth and Employment Project.

Mr Sani Labaran, Director-in-charge of GEM in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, disclosed in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday.

Labaran, who is also the Coordinator of GEM, said the project would create both direct and indirect jobs in five sectors of the economy from 2015 to 2018.

He said the five sectors were identified based on their growth and employment potential.

The coordinator gave the sectors as entertainment industry, ICT, hospitality and tourism, light manufacturing and agro processing as well as construction/real estate.

“The project is aimed at enhancing job creation and increased non-oil growth in specific high-potential value chain sectors,” he said.

According to him, GEM Project is very important to the Federal Government and the Nigerian economy, as it will help to address high unemployment rate.

NAN reports that the project is supported by the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development and is being implemented by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment.

The World Bank is providing a loan of about 160 million dollars, while the DFID is providing a grant of about 100 million dollars.

NAN learnt that the project was conceptualised after the conduct of Growth Poll Studies in 2007.

The study identified key sectors with potential growth in the economy and with high potential to generate a lot of jobs.

NAN learnt that the project had three pillars of investments, developing new business models and improving the business enabling environment.

The first pillar is that the project will provide for investments to address gaps that prevent key growth centres from expanding and hiring more Nigerians, in particular, the young and poor.

The project will support Small and Medium Enterprises develop new business models, train the labour force to enable Nigerian businesses to participate successfully in national and global supply chains.

It will also improve the business enabling environment so that businesses can grow faster and become more profitable.

Source: Punch