The Federal Government has called unemployed graduates to embrace Blue/Green Collar jobs as sustainable alternatives to white collar jobs.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, made the call at a Townhall Meeting on Popularization of Blue/Green Collar Jobs Among Graduates of Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria, held in Benin, Edo State.

Represented by the Director, Special Duties and Projects Department in the Ministry, Dr Martina Nwordu, the Minister urged the Nigerian youth to invest their talent in the Blue/Green Collar Jobs sector, as “the richest youth of the world, aged between 21 and 31 years, are not employees of government but smart entrepreneurs”, who distinguished themselves in creative skills in various areas.

The Minister disclosed that the purpose of the meeting, which held concurrently in four other geopolitical zones of the federation, was to sensitize representatives of key stakeholders in Graduate Employmenton the benefits of Blue/Green Collar Jobs as an alternative response to the challenges of graduate unemployment.

According to Ngige, the Townhall meeting is part of the activities in the Graduate Employability Enhancement Scheme (GEES), an initiation of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on how to break the resilience of high unemployment rate in the country.

He urged the stakeholders – unemployed graduates, parents, career counsellors, students of tertiary institutions, among others – to key into the profitable opportunities offered by Blue/Green Collar jobs, which include income satisfaction, self-dignity and esteemed self-worth.

Ngige urged the stakeholders to cooperate with Government on the programme, as it would also contribute to achieving the President’s promise to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years.

The Minister then enjoined the representatives of the various stakeholders to convey the messages of the meeting to their various communities.

Resource persons at the Townhall meeting were drawn from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and National Directorate of Employment.