Foreign Investors Canvass for More Skilled-Workers
Yinka Olatunbosun
The third Austrian German Swiss Business Outlook meeting with the media community in Lagos was recently wrapped up with the hints on job opportunities that await Nigerians.
Contrary to widely held views that there are no jobs in Nigeria, the delegate of the German Industry and Commerce in Nigeria, Dr. Marc Lucassen revealed that most companies are looking to increase head counts in their staff structure.
“We are in desperate need of blue collar skilled workers. Most of our employees are office workers,’’ he said.
Lucassen’s remarks were based on surveys conducted using macro-economic parameters, study of the ease of doing business in Nigeria as well as statistics from relevant organisations.
He noted also that there is a huge market potential in Nigeria with improvement recorded in the area of company registration, access to credit facilities and the recent economic recovery.
Still, he expressed moderate optimism in business prospects in view of issues of national concerns such as power supply, infrastructure and security in parts of Nigeria which are flashpoints for ethno-religious crisis and other social unrests.
“There is a concern that the 2019 elections may affect business and growth expectations,’’ he observed.
For the commercial counsellor, Austrian Embassy in Nigeria, Ms. Nella Hengstler, exports are gradually increasing and Nigeria is still one of Africa’s top business destinations.
One of the high points of the event was the revelation by the Consul General, Consulate General of Switzerland, Mr. Yves Nicolet, that no fewer than 35 companies will arrive in Nigeria by October.
In her opening remarks, the Deputy Consul General for Germany, Lagos, Mrs. Alexandra Herr explained the rationale behind the business coalition which aims at promoting bi-lateral relations and attract more investors to the Nigerian business sector.
“We believe we all face the same problems and have the same success stories,’’ she said while recounting some of the past and current activities of the Austrian German Swiss Business Outlook.
During the question-and-answer session, the group was charged by some of the journalists to invest in human capacity development through the establishment of vocational centres in Nigeria in order to meet with the challenges of qualified technicians and engineers in their various organisations.