Nigeria is seeking help from the United States of America to address the issue of unemployment in the country.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, William Alo, says Nigeria needs assistance from the U.S in “tackling the unemployment challenges bedeviling the country.”
Receiving a delegation from the U.S. Department of Labour, led by Kurt Petermeyer, who is the Regional Administrator, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Mr Alo said that assistance from the U. S. to upgrade the skill acquisition centres in the country would be of immense benefit to Nigeria, as it would enhance job creation.
He said that child labour, forced labour and other ills in the society are fallouts of unemployment adding that the repositioning of the Skills Acquisition Centres in the country would create more employment opportunities for the unemployed youths and others.
A statement by the Assistant Director Press in the Ministry, Mrs Rohda IIiya, said the Permanent Secretary acknowledged the U. S. as a long-standing dependable partner to Nigeria, and felt assured that U.S’ intervention would help to reduce the crime rate among the youths, as many of them would get off the crime track when employed.
According to the statement, the visit was a follow-up to an earlier visit where Nigeria had sought assistance from the U.S. on the upgrading of the country’s Skill Acquisition Centres and on other areas that would help in reducing unemployment in the country.
Speaking earlier, the Regional Administrator, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, U.S. Department of Labour, Kurt Petermeyer, said the group was on skills and facilities assessment visit to determine areas of possible assistance to Nigeria.
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