The Federal Republic of Nigeria on SURE-P , Subsidy reinvestment programme yesterday , about 5,000 graduates scrabble for 401 available SURE-P community service women and youth graduate internship scheme positions in Plateau state.
Due to challenges of attaching graduates to internship programme only 8 medical doctors and pharmacists , 4 lawyers and 132 in Art and humanity will be engaged.
The one day media sensitization/firm and graduate job matching workshop witnessed a large number of graduates within Plateau and its environs.
A consultant ,Mr James Yakubu said the aim of the programme is to have an interface between the employer and the employees, which the training will equip them on self employment after the one year period.
He decried that the data based was overloaded so the department of ICT section which they reduce the number of internship to 401 for them to be accommodated in handling of project implementation units of GIS .
According to him, the graduates shall be receiving 30,000 every month for the period of one year,but the federal government is giving emphasis on skills acquisition and training that will be offering the graduates to be independent.
Yakubu explained that within the one year ,the ministry has also developed a guide for internship for them to acquire practical skills that can help them fill the gap ,because most employers are complaining that the graduates lack experience.
However, the effort to speak with GIS managing department prove abortive as the man who was in charge refused to make comment and was so harsh insulting reporters .
Barr.Dashuwar Useni described the exercise as very unfortunate situation,stressing that things have gone so bad in Nigeria like this with many graduates roaming the streets doing nothing.
He appealed to the federal government to ensure that the scheme is free for all graduates to benefit from, since the rate of unemployment level in the country is very high.
Mrs Naalop Naapan who also expressed sadness that in the country of plenty many graduates were denied life changing opportunity.
She said ,” I received a text message to come for the programme only for me to be denied going in at the gate,” I was told that until you have NYSC Discharge Certificate before you are allowed inside”.
Naapan employed federal government to reduce the high unemployment level in the state .
Barr. Audu Maikori said,the projects were implemented by the president who constituted SURE-P committee with 21 members following the mandate to mitigate impact on partial petroleum subsidy removal on the population by laying a foundation for the successful development of National social safety.
He added that it accelerate the economic transformation through investment in critical infrastructure projects so as to drive economic growth and achieve the vision 20-2020 .
According to him, the Sure-P graduate internship programme is designed to primarily create temporary employment for the teeming Unemployed graduates in the country.
He noted that the scheme is to reduce the number of unemployed graduates and enhance the employability of at least 50,000 unemployed graduates in the 36 states of the federation and in the FCT by the end 2015.
He Pointing out that currently they have over 180,000 graduates who have registered on the platform across the federation with over 7,000 firms who have signed up to take on interns.
