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FG targets 460,000 jobs through growth employment project

By BusinessNews Staff on February 21, 2014

The Federal Government said it is targeting a minimum of 460,000 jobs within the next four years through the Growth and Employment Program.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr Olusegun Aganga, stated this on Thursday in Abuja during the inauguration of an eight-man steering committee for the Growth and Employment Project.

Aganga said the project is aimed at enhancing job creation and increased non-oil growth in specific high-potential value chain sectors and will help to create 110, 000 direct and 350, 000 indirect jobs

The Committee is chaired by Aganga, with members drawn from the Ministries of Finance, Information and Communications Technology; Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, and Agriculture and Rural Development.

Speaking during the inauguration in Abuja, on Tuesday, Aganga said that the committee was critical to enhancing inclusive economic growth through job creation and wealth generation.

He said, “The GEM Project is very important to the Federal Government and the Nigerian economy. It is an employment project by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, supported by the World Bank and the UK Department For International Development.”

The World Bank is providing a loan of about $160 million, while the DFID is providing a grant of about $100 million. The project is aimed at job creation and increased non-oil growth in specific high potential value chain sectors.

He said, “The project was conceptualised after the conduct of Growth Poll Studies in 2007. The study identified key sectors with potential growth in the economy with high potential to generate a lot of jobs. This is what the Nigerian Industrial Revolution Plan and National Enterprise Development Programme , which were launched by President Goodluck Jonathan recently, seek to achieve.”

The minister added that FMITI, working with the World Bank and DFID, had already identified eight key sectors with potential for generating employment, adding that the impact of the implementation of the GEM programme will be felt in no distant future.

He said, “It is expected that the GEM programme, which will run from June 2013 to September 2018, will create a minimum of about 460,000 jobs, comprising of 110, 000 direct and 350, 000 indirect jobs.”

Eight priority sectors have been identified, based on their growth and employment potential.

Speaking during the event, the World Bank Sector Leader, Finance and Private Sector Development in Nigeria, Mr. Michael Wong, said the World Bank was committed towards the successful implementation of the project, adding that it will reach about 10,000 enterprises within the implementation period.

He said, “We are happy that after two to three years of dormancy, the GEM project has finally come out to deliver the results and expectations as originally envisaged.”

[Punch]

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