Jobberman and Mastercard Foundation Team Up to Place 3 Million Nigerians in Dignified Employment by 2025
July 20, 2020: Lagos — Jobberman, the single largest online job placement and training website in sub-Saharan Africa, has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to tackle unemployment in Nigeria. The partnership aims to train 5 million job seekers and place 3 million in dignified employment over the next five years. Jobberman and Mastercard Foundation also plan to train 200,000 job seekers and place 120,000 in dignified employment by the end of this year. The partnership will impact young people living in the North, of which 70 percent will be young women.
The most recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics puts the combined unemployment and underemployment rates in Nigeria at 43.3 percent – a figure that will almost certainly be exacerbated by the impact of COVID-19. More than 60 percent of young women are unemployed and more than one in four (25.9 percent) of women in the labour force are underemployed. According to the World Bank, there is also increasing inequality in Nigeria between the North and the South.
In partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, Jobberman aims to provide Nigerian job seekers with the skills they will need to enhance their chances of securing work in an overcrowded job market, as well as place them in dignified work. Training will be focused on soft skills such as emotional intelligence, business etiquette and time management, and will be delivered online and offline for people with limited access to the internet. The partnership will involve community leaders as well as other key decision-makers, and trained candidates will be placed via Jobberman’s employer partnerships.
In Nigeria, the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy aims to enable 10 million young Nigerians, especially young women to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. Since the launch of the soft-skills training program, 16,000 youngsters have successfully been placed in dignified work between April and June, which is a 78% increase from the 9,000 placed during the same period in 2019.
Young Africa Works will be implemented in Lagos, Kano, and Kaduna. As a partner in this initiative, Jobberman Nigeria will establish a baseline of the state of employability of young Nigerians by conducting a skills gap analysis of the labour market in Agriculture, Digital, and the Creative Industries sectors, cultivating employability skills through training centres, online classes/webinars, career fairs, and events. It will then place jobseekers in various roles across the Agriculture, Digital, and Creative Industries among others.
According to Hilda Kragha, CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, “We are delighted to be working with the Mastercard Foundation and community leaders to address the issue of unemployment in Nigeria and to play our part in providing young Nigerians with access to dignified roles, which offer a clear path to self-sustenance. Nigeria is full of talented and hardworking young people. However, the current structure of the jobs market, means many are unable to make the most of their skills and talents. This is why it is important to join forces with key stakeholders to equip young people with the skills they need and to link them effectively to dignified work opportunities.”
Chidinma Lawanson, Country Head, Nigeria at the Mastercard Foundation said, “Skills training is essential as advancements in technology and the changing nature of work means employers are increasingly looking for workers who have the technical and soft skills that machines are unlikely to fill, such as creativity and collaboration. We look forward to working with Jobberman to equip young people, especially young women in the North, with the skills they need to excel and connecting them with opportunities that will transform their lives and their communities.
With over a decade in the recruitment business, Jobberman has identified soft skills as a viable asset to an employee and job seeker, especially for young people transitioning into the workplace. So far, Jobberman has trained on average over 4,000 young people per day via Zoom and 11,000 via Telegram over a six week period and is currently the only online platform offering soft skills training for free to young people across Nigeria.
The most successful businesses today are the ones that invest in soft skills training for employees; they are growing in revenue and leading their industries. In these times of change and uncertainty, providing training content that helps employees develop their soft skills will ensure that both organizations and their employees succeed.
For additional information, or interview requests with Jobberman Nigeria CEO, Hilda Kragha, please contact Chanelle Rintari – chanelle@wimbart.com or Bemi Idowu – bemi@wimbart.com of Wimbart .
About Jobberman
Founded in 2009, Jobberman is an online platform that provides training and placement for jobseekers, as well as the best selection of candidates for companies hiring. It is the single largest job placement website in sub-Saharan Africa and has the vision to become the leading source of talent in every market it operates in by simplifying job searching and talent acquisition; matching the right set of skills with employers needs. For more information about the online placement platform visit: www.jobberman.com
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest, private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management.
For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org
About Young Africa Works
Young Africa Works is the Mastercard Foundation’s strategy to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women, across Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work. Africa will be home to the world’s largest workforce, with 375 million young people entering the job market by 2030. With the right skills, these young people will contribute to Africa’s global competitiveness and improve their lives and those of their communities. The Mastercard Foundation will implement Young Africa Works in 10 African countries in collaboration with governments, the private sector, entrepreneurs, educators, and young people. The first phase of countries identified by the Mastercard Foundation are Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Nigeria.
