In an effort to increase employment opportunities for its citizens, the Nigerian Government is partnering with the Republic of Kuwait.
This collaboration aims to open up more foreign job opportunities for Nigerians.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Abuja on Tuesday under the supervision of the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite. The agreement was between the Ministry and UTEL Ltd., with the goal of connecting Nigerians to foreign jobs in Kuwait, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), and Scandinavian countries, among others. This initiative will be carried out by the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP).
Dr. Femi Adeluyi, the National Coordinator of NATEP, stated that the signing of the MoU is a significant step in ensuring Nigerians have access to quality employment opportunities. These opportunities could be direct employment and emigration of our talent or utilization of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model for gainful and meaningful employment for those based in Nigeria.
Through NATEP, Nigeria can honorably export her talents in a mutually beneficial and reputation-preserving way, thereby curbing illegal migration and the associated embarrassment to the country.
The MoU was signed with UTEL Ltd, a Nigerian subsidiary of Unique Agency Kuwait- a leading provider of expatriate employees for government agencies and departments in the State of Kuwait.
NATEP further stated that the partnership with UTEL is to aggregate foreign jobs for Nigerians from Kuwait and other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. This aligns with the Federal Government’s goal to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with nations and global institutions to facilitate job provision for Nigerians.
During the ceremony, an announcement was made about openings for two hundred and fifty (250) foreign jobs for Nigerians.
Nigerians in diaspora are known to excel in their professions, and data supports this claim. For instance, research from the Migration Policy Institute Washington-DC indicates that more than half of Nigerian immigrants (54%) are likely to occupy management positions, compared to 32% of other immigrants and 39% of the US-born population. Similarly, the 2021 Office for National Statistic Report from the United Kingdom (UK) showed that 44% of adult residents born outside the UK have some form of qualification, compared to 31% of UK-born residents, while 66% Nigeria immigrants have received one form of qualification or another. This demonstrates the high level of quality that Nigerians can bring to the table.
The Coordinator noted that in order to promote talent and services export, as well as managed migration, the MoU specified a “1+2” approach for the partnership. With this approach, for every Nigerian that is selected for a foreign job through NATEP, the partners will commit to helping connect an outsourced role to the Nigerian BPO ecosystem and also support in the training a Nigerian to refresh the local workforce.
In addition to the Honourable Minister, other dignitaries at the event included Mr. Athbi Hussein Al Awadi (from Kuwait); Mr. Tahir Saleh Hashim (from Oman); and Advokat Torgeir Knutsen (from Norway), among others.
The Honourable Minister concluded the ceremony by assuring the partners that Nigeria is fully committed to upskilling its talent pool to power the industrial revitalization plan of the Federal Government and to also provide skilled citizens for global talent opportunities.
