What
do young people really want? Keeping in mind the harsh reality of unemployment
statistics in our society, will young people choose “employability” over
“long-term” job security? Is one more importance than the other? As a young
person, would you prefer stability of long-term employment or knowing that your
skills make you adaptable to wide range of jobs?
“Your employability is
your job security, not the job itself,” says Douglas Imaralu, a young Nigerian
Graduate.
Imaralu is currently
taking up different professional management trainings and foreign language
classes to augment his degree certificate, in preparation to take on full time
employment.
He adds, “The fact
that you can work and fit anywhere is security. Skills will make you
adaptable.”
The Lagos State
University Graduate says the world is changing, old methods are being revised
so with more skills one can easily adapt and become employable anywhere.
Olamide Ogunleye, who
graduated last month from a university in the US, agrees with Imaralu. “I would
acquire skills that make me adaptable to different positions. In other words,
carve a niche for myself,” she says.
She reiterates the
importance for young people to acquire skills that will make them adaptable to
different jobs.
“In a world where
technology is on the rise, it is imperative for every individual to acquire new
skills that will set him or her apart from others.” She adds.
Ogunleye points out
that settling with the “employed” status is like opting to fit in instead of
standing out.
“If there is a chance
for you to make yourself better, you should jump at it. Often times, you find
people changing jobs for a number of reasons. People even leave jobs that pay
well; they leave when they feel they are not growing. You cannot grow if you
don’t enhance your skills.” Says Ogunleye.
To buttress her point,
the Eastern Michigan University graduate noted that it is true that a company
will hire you if you have the degree they want but they’ll hire someone with
degree plus experience (additional skills) over you.
“The work force is a
society on its own. It is a competitive society and whether you like it or not,
someone is eyeing that position you call stable,” she says.
Imaralu and Ogunleye,
although live in two different parts of the world with unique socio-economic
climate, do not prefer stability of long-term employment to
employability.
“Why
limit yourself? Why not take on skills that make you adaptable to different
positions?” asked Ogunleye.
They both advocate for young people to embrace
opportunities that will allow them acquire competent skills adaptable to wide
range of jobs.
In Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics
puts unemployment at 23.9 per cent while according to the US Labour Department
data, unemployment rate in the US stands at 8.7 per cent, as of December 2011.
Whether
living in the US or in Nigeria, after
pounding the pavement for several days, weeks, months or years and you finally
secure a position in a company, “aim to be an asset to that company.” One of the ways to be an asset is not
to get comfortable in the “employed status” but rather to acquire new skills
that will enable you manage different responsibilities that comes with it or
move on to a more interesting employment opportunity
