Emergence of Unemployment: An Assessment of Nigeria Directorate of Employment (NDE) Skill Intervention Programmes between (2005-2011) in Lagos State

Generation of productive and gainful employment with decent working conditions based on skill development to absorb our growing labour force has become a critical factor in the strategy for economic development in Nigeria. This demands that the government must respond through policy interventions in setting institutional framework that will be responsible for enhancing the skill of  products from different academia. Given the strategic position of Lagos State in Nigeria there is need to provide world-class vocational skills training and high quality technical education to Lagos unemployed youths . Young school leavers rush to Lagos in search of jobs. In other to achieve this target, the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and few other institutions were created. The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between skill development and youth unemployment. In analyzing the relevance of NDE in the development of skill and creation of job in Lagos state between (2005-2011), this paper  observed that NDE has contributed significantly towards creating jobs for the unemployed  youths within their capacity. However, the slow pace of NDE in responding effectively to the rate of unemployment and in attaining the millennium development goal (MDGs) will be an uphill task. The government needs to improve on their investment, and develop more institutional capacity to tackle the issue of unemployment in the country. Beyond policy initiation, strategies must be put in place for adequate implementation of the scheme towards eradicating unemployment. Keywords: Unemployment, Job creation, Skill  empowerment, National Directorate of Employment, Youth

The Impact of Digital Technology on Economic Growth and Productivity, and its Implications for Employment and Equality: An Evidence Review

As digital technology has begun to ‘eat the world’ it has also influenced the way that humans interact and transact with each other. Thus, it has inevitably had an effect on global, regional, national and local economies. This Evidence Report reviews the literature assessing the economic impact of digital technologies – namely information communication technology (ICT) – on economies and people. In terms of the economic effects of digital technology on economies, this literature review summarises its relationship with economic growth and productivity. Although increases in ICT infrastructure/equipment investment and increased ICT adoption tend to be strongly correlated with economic growth and productivity, causality is yet to be resolved, and the potential for endogenous, simultaneous and reverse causality remains. In other words, there is still the possibility that the economic impacts of the internet are caused by a third variable, that the economic impacts lead to internet adaption at the same time that internet adaption leads to economic impacts, and that it is economic growth that causes internet adaption rather than vice versa. Furthermore, the correlations tend to be highly heterogeneous – different across space and time – suggesting that the relationship is not always given. The review also summarises the literature concerning the effects of digital technology on employment and inequality.UK Department for International Developmen

Perception of Colllege of Education Lecturers on Identification of Sectorial Business Opportunities in Entrepreneurship Development as Panacea for National Economic Transformation.

The fundamentals of business opportunities identification are directly related to the entire process of entrepreneurship development for national economic transformation. There is abundance of business opportunities in the different sectors of the national economy yearning for exploitation. The purpose of the study was to identify these various sectors and determine the extent to which the identified business opportunities promote entrepreneurship development for national transformation. Two research questions guided the study. The population was 45 lecturers of the School of Business Education from nine Colleges of Education in the South East of Nigeria.  A structured questionnaire with a five-point Likert Scale was used as the instrument for data collection. The instrument contained 28 items and mean was used in the analysis of the data. The findings showed that business opportunities exist in different sectors of the national economy and that these opportunities promote entrepreneurship culture and development, job creation, self-employment, self-reliance, economic transformation, creativity and innovation. They also provide the push, pull and drive for hard work that ensure success and the acquisition of employable skills for the unemployed, unemployable and the underemployed, thus leading to national transformation. Conclusions were drawn based on these findings. It was recommended that entrepreneurship curriculum in tertiary institutions should include how to identify the fundamentals of business opportunities and ways and means of identifying business opportunities in one’s environment. Keywords: Sectors, Sectorial Business Opportunities, National Economic Transformation, Entrepreneurship Development, Entrepreneur

Strategic planning for business skills training for youth in emerging countries

The Centre of Excellence for Business Skills Development (referred to as CEBSD throughout this report) is a training centre established in 2013 as part of the project 'Strengthening Business Skills for Youth Employment in Myanmar'. This project is a collaboration between the Ministry of Education in Myanmar, UNESCO, and sponsored by PepsiCo. The project focuses on youth development and intends to equip youths in Myanmar with employability skills and leadership skills. After 6 years of implementation, this study conducts a comprehensive evaluation to identify achievements of this programme from both a quantitative and qualitative perspective. This evaluation contains reports on the training programme's sessions and the programme's operations sessions. By observing the evaluation and analysis, we can better identify the competitive advantages and disadvantages of this programme, and make any required amendments and improve the next stage of development. According to the results, we consider this programme to have reached the expected outcomes, and the students' satisfaction survey showed overall good feedback to our program, including curriculum design and faculties. For future development, apart from keeping the existing activities, more consideration should be given to the faculties' competency building and partnership development with special needs schools and organisations; business partners, and similar organisations in different areas of Myanmar.O Centro de Excelência em Habilidades Empresariais para Jovens em Mianmar é um centro de treinamento estabelecido em 2013 como parte do projeto 'Fortalecimento das Habilidades Empresariais para Emprego de Jovens em Mianmar'. Este projeto é uma colaboração entre o Ministério da Educação em Mianmar, UNESCO e patrocinado pela PepsiCo. O projeto se concentra no desenvolvimento dos jovens e pretende equipar os jovens em Mianmar com habilidades de empregabilidade e liderança. Após 6 anos de implementação, este estudo realiza uma avaliação abrangente para identificar as realizações deste programa sob uma perspectiva quantitativa e qualitativa. Esta avaliação contém relatórios sobre as sessões do programa de treinamento e as operações do programa. Observando a avaliação e a análise, podemos identificar melhor as vantagens e desvantagens competitivas deste programa, fazer as alterações necessárias e melhorar o próximo estágio de desenvolvimento. De acordo com os resultados, consideramos que este programa alcançou os resultados esperados e a pesquisa de satisfação dos alunos mostrou um bom feedback geral ao nosso programa, incluindo design de currículo e faculdades. Para o desenvolvimento futuro, além de manter as atividades existentes, deve-se considerar mais o desenvolvimento de competências das faculdades e o desenvolvimento de parcerias com escolas e organizações com necessidades especiais; parceiros de negócios e organizações similares em diferentes áreas de Mianmar

RIO Country Report 2017: Malta

The R&I Observatory country report 2017 provides a brief analysis of the R&I system covering the economic context, main actors, funding trends & human resources, policies to address R&I challenges, and R&I in national and regional smart specialisation strategies. Data is from Eurostat, unless otherwise referenced and is correct as at January 2018. Data used from other international sources is also correct to that date. The report provides a state-of-play and analysis of the national level R&I system and its challenges, to support the European Semester.JRC.B.7-Knowledge for Finance, Innovation and Growt

A compendium of Technologies, Practices, Services and Policies for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture in Odisha (India)

Stakeholders engaged in agricultural research for development (AR4D) are increasingly tackling risks associated with climate change in smallholder systems. Accordingly, development and scaling of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) are one of the priorities for all the organizations, departments and ministries associated with the farm sector. Having a ‘one-stop-shop’ compiled in the format of a compendium for CSA technologies, practices and services would therefore serve a guide for all the stakeholders for scaling CSA in smallholder systems. Bringing out a Compendium on Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) for Odisha, India was therefore thought of during the workshop on ‘Scaling Climate-Smart Agriculture in Odisha’ organized at Bhubaneswar on 18-19 July 2018 by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in collaboration with Department of Agriculture (DoA) & Farmers’ Empowerment, Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Rice Research Institute (ICAR-NRRI), Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT) & International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) under the aegis of CGIAR Research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS). The main objectives to bring forth this compendium are: to argue the case for agriculture policies and practices that are climate-smart; to raise awareness of what can be done to make agriculture policies and practices climatesmart; and to provide practical guidance and recommendations that are well referenced and, wherever possible, based on lessons learned from practical action. CSA programmes are unlikely to be effective unless their implementation is supported by sound policies and institutions. It is therefore important to enhance institutional capacities in order to implement and replicate CSA strategies. Institutions are vital to agricultural development as well as the realisation of resilient livelihoods.They are not only a tool for farmers and decision-makers, but are also the main conduit through which CSA practices can be scaled up and sustained. The focus in this compendium is on CSA and it’s relevant aspects, i.e., (i) technologies and practices, (ii) services, (iii) technology targeting, (iv) business models, (v) capacity building, and (vi) policies. The approaches and tools available in the compendium span from face-to-face technicianfarmer dialogues to more structured exchanges of online and offline e-learning. In every scenario it is clear that tailoring to local expectations and needs is key. In particular, the voice of farmers is essential to be captured as they are the key actors to promote sustainable agriculture, and their issues need to be prioritized. CSA practices are expected to sustainably increase productivity and resilience (adaptation), reduce Greenhouse Gases (mitigation), and enhance achievement of national food security along with sustainable development goals. CSA is widely expected to contribute towards achieving these objectives and enhance climate change adaptation. CSA practices have to be included in State’s Climate Policy as a priority intervention as the state steps up efforts to tackle climate change. Furthermore, emphasis shoud be laid on CSA training for a sustainable mode to enhance CSA adoption in the state hence the relevance of developing this document. The adaption of climate related knowledge, technologies and practices to local conditions, promoting joint learning by farmers, researchers, rural advisor and widely disseminating CSA practices, is critical. This compendium brings together a collection of experiences from different stakeholders with background of agricultural extension and rural advisory services in supporting CSA. The contributions are not intended to be state-of-the art academic articles but thought and discussion pieces of work in progress. The compendium itself is a ‘living‘ document which is intended to be revised periodically

Potentials of ICT-based Business Initiatives for Enterprise Creation In Nigeria

Unemployment among school leavers and graduates of tertiary institutions have been a bane causing death of marketableskills and skills mismatch in Nigeria, besides restiveness and other social vices. Information and communicationtechnologies (ICTs) have been increasingly promoted as a key solution for comprehensive development, poverty alleviationand the empowerment of historically disadvantaged groups. ICT-based business initiatives have been hailed as “potentialgoldmines; hence the need for acquisition of functional and marketable skills, especially in ICT and related modern skills,becomes indisputably imperative. The benefits have far-reaching consequences for the economic and social development ofa country, as ICT businesses can foster new avenues for education, communication and information sharing; increasedproductivity and speed of work; improved accuracy as computers tend to make fewer mistakes than humans; fastercommunication; and savings in labour costs since fewer workers may be required. This paper, motivated by the potentiallypowerful role that ICTs can play in the empowerment of the unemployed, poor and underdeveloped individuals in Nigeria, isan attempt to suggest possible ICT initiatives that can be used to create self-sustainable enterprises and entrepreneurs. It isanticipated that the insights developed in this study would be useful both for purposes of policy formulation and effectiveprogramme- and self- development.Keywords - Enterprise Creation, Training, Skill-Acquisition, Seed-Money and Empowerment

The Role of ICT in Women's Empowerment in Rural\ud Bangladesh

Rural women in Bangladesh have limited access to resources and public\ud spheres due to socio-cultural restrictions. Women suffer from severe\ud discrimination, and it is thought this is heightened due to a lack of access to\ud information. Information communication and technology (ICT) is a potential tool\ud that can reach rural women and enrich their knowledge. This paper discusses\ud women‟s empowerment in terms of perceptual change in rural villages in\ud Bangladesh after ICT intervention has been introduced by Non-Government\ud Organizations (NGOs). Since empowerment is a complex phenomenon to measure\ud because of its multidimensional aspects and its relationship with time as a process,\ud the methodology used in this research was an integration of qualitative and\ud quantitative methods. Using a structured questionnaire, data was collected from\ud women in two different villages where ICT projects have been introduced. The\ud change in women‟s perception after using ICT was compared with changes in\ud women who did not use ICT. The results indicate that ICT intervention changed\ud women‟s perception in a positive direction in one village but it did not change in\ud the other village

Africa Agriculture Status Report 2015: Youth in Agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa

This report launched on September 30 during the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Lusaka, Zambia. This third volume of the publication focuses on youth in agriculture, providing an in-depth analysis of barriers and challenges youth face to gaining secure and sustainable employment or self-employment in the agricultural sector. It also provides insight into opportunities, experiences, good practices and emerging innovations and concludes with forward-looking recommendations