SEDIN, SKYE and PME Organised National Conference on Employment Promotion
On the 12th and 13th of October, the GIZ programmes Pro-poor Growth and Promotion of Employment in Nigeria – SEDIN, Skills Development for Youth Employment – SKYE, and Programme Migration for Development (PME), collaborated with the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment (FMLE) to organise the National Conference on Employment Promotion.
The two-day conference themed “Addressing the Challenges of Employment and Reintegration at the National and Subnational Levels in the Post Covid-19 Era: Impact and Policy Response”, was organised as a hybrid event. Stakeholders from the labour sector participated in-person across five states (Abuja, Lagos, Edo, Ogun, and Plateau), while others joined virtually.
Considering the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the objectives of the conference was to take stock of the labour market situation in Nigeria; discuss the policy framework for sustainable employment promotion post-COVID-19; recommend appropriate policy and strategy response on employment promotion; examine the implications of COVID-19 on migration and reintegration measures in Nigeria; and share global best practices, experiences and strategies in employment promotion, labour market and reintegration issues.
The conference featured paper presentations and panel discussions that focused on the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market, employment promotion and re-integration. These discussions were held from varying perspectives including youth employment, impact on micro, small, medium enterprises (MSMEs), labour market information system (LMIS), the creative economy, and multi-stakeholder collaboration.
The two-day event came to an end with stakeholders agreeing that to address the challenges around employment and reintegration, there should be a multi-level, multi-sectoral and multi-stakeholder collaboration that will reach the country’s youthful population and take into consideration gender and the disadvantaged groups in the society.
