‘How I cope as a jobless graduate

Tell us a little about yourself please?My name is John Sunday Akwashiki, I graduated from the University of Abuja. I studied Physics Education. I graduated in the 2009/2010 session. Since then I have not got a permanent job. Prior to my NYSC, I was teaching as a PTA teacher and when the school finally got […]

Tell us a little about yourself please?
My name is John Sunday Akwashiki, I graduated from the University of Abuja. I studied Physics Education. I graduated in the 2009/2010 session. Since then I have not got a permanent job. Prior to my NYSC, I was teaching as a PTA teacher and when the school finally got a permanent staff, I had to leave. I did my NYSC at the Federal Road Safety Commission in their Corps Logistic Office as computer operator. After NYSC, we had to go; there was no room for employment. Since then, I have been applying here and there and nothing has come up.
Where have you applied?
I have applied to  the National Population Commission, Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Ministry of Education, Foreign Affairs Technical Aid Corps, INEC and so many others that I can’t even remember, as well as private firms.
What do you think is the reason why you have not been employed?
So far, I noticed a challenge. Like the Ministry of Interior where I applied, we later realised that those they wanted for the job have actually started working while we were busy applying. They never told us they have got the people they wanted.
Also, National Population Commission; we applied, in fact, most of our colleagues came from other states to come and apply for same thing only to get to find out that they had already got those they wanted but we were busy doing applications. We were waiting to see if they would call some people but they never called anybody because they had already done the  employment.
Are you very sure about that?
Yes, I am very sure.
Have you tried banks and other places?
I have never tried banks; I don’t even intend working in a bank.  I am an educationist; I should work where I know I am fit though I am also an IT person.
Have you tried any of the schools as an education person or don’t you want to teach?
Of course I want to teach. That was why I applied at the Civil Service Commission and the Ministry of Education because that is the right channel to follow. I applied as an education officer. But they called us and we wrote some exams and aptitude test
When was that?
We wrote aptitude test last year between November and December. Sometimes this year May, they called some of us to come for documentation but since then we have not heard anything from them. Where did you do these tests?
The Ministry of Education through the Civil Service Commission
Which state are you from?
I am from Nasarawa State but we wrote the exams according to geopolitical zones and my zone fell in Abuja here.
How long can you wait to get a job?
I can’t wait anymore; so far, I am trying to put things in place to see if I can come up with things on my own while I wait.
What are your plans?
I have gone for some agro allied business training and I am computer literate.  I did some web designing training and I am going to do some IT training again so that I can start off something on my own.
What is the nature of agro allied training that you need?
 Staff of the Bank of Industry were there, even the CBN was there to prove that there is an amount of money set aside for people to obtain loan through them. But they said you have to have 25 percent for you to access the loan. Some of us young graduates, how will we have 25 percent of two million naira or five million naira? Is it from our NYSC allowance that we have been saving? How will you even save your allowance when you have to pay transportation, and other things have already consumed the money?
What kind of business do you want to go into?
Mechanised farming; I am looking at cultivating cassava. They said we can get land in Kuje; that we should apply for the land. I am also looking at fish farming and poultry.
What is you call on government?
I want government to look at fresh graduates or those in NYSC and help. It is not everybody that comes from a rich home; not all can come up with enough money and start something. They are only telling us that we should start something but how would you start something when you don’t have anything? It is not true that you can start something with nothing. You just have to have something to have something. All fingers are not equal; there are people out there that their parents have set up something for them which they can have as a stepping stone.
But what about those whose parents are not wealthy?  How do you expect them to start something when you don’t empower them in a way that they can start? Like the 25 percent they are talking about, should a young graduate go and borrow money, who will lend him money knowing that he doesn’t have a job?
What is your call to other unemployed  graduates out there?
Like I took up this challenge, I want some other graduates out there who don’t have a job to take up the challenge; there are lots of organisations that offer training free of charge for graduates. You don’t sit back at home and apply and keep applying for jobs thinking success will come on a platter of gold. SMEDAN is kicking off a training scheme by 8th August. Young graduates should source for such training by themselves. When they get trained, they can start something on their own. No one will force you to come and get trained.