Unemployment: Industrialist urges Nigerian graduates to embrace hands on jobs

Fri, Oct 25, 2019
By publisher
2 MIN READ

Youth

JOSEPH Iyke, the Managing Director of Akademic Polythene Industry in Amaukwa Nsukka, Enugu state, has advised Nigerian graduates to acquire entrepreneurial skills in order to become self-employed and employers of labour.

He gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Nsukka on Friday, saying that Nigerian youths needed to embrace hands on jobs to overcome the unemployment challenges in the country.

Iyke, who is a graduate of Economics English from Nsukka College of Education, urged graduates in the country to look beyond their areas of study, “so that they can be job creators instead of job seekers.”

He said, “It is unfortunate that some graduates are still roaming the streets looking for non-existant white-collar jobs instead of thinking of how to make themselves self-employed and also create more jobs in the country.”

Iyke said that his company, which produces cellophane bags, using a machine he fabricated, had trained at least 100 youths in the business free of charge.

He said that the machine could also be used to manually seal, print and produce cellophane bags of various sizes.

He said that he fabricated the machine in 2016, when he registered the company with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

“Since 2016 till now I have trained no fewer than 100 youths free of charge and some of them after the training bought the machine and started their own business.

“The cost of materials to produce the machine is N45,000,” Iyke said, adding that those who buy the machine recover their money within two months and start making profit.

He described the nylon bag business as very lucrative, saying, “as vehicle drivers cannot do without fuel so also traders and market people cannot do their business without nylon bags.

“The business of nylon bags is very lucrative because traders and market people need the bags every day to carry out their businesses.”

Iyke identified poor power supply and inadequate funds to expand the business as some of his challenges.

“I spend a lot on petrol to power my generating set daily for our production.

“My dream is to expand the business so that I will be able to employ up to 50 people,” he said.

He called for governments’ assistance, saying that he required about N28 million to buy more equipment to expand his business and train more youths. (NAN)

– Oct. 25, 2019 @ 15:15 GMT |

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