The Nigerian government has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UTEL Ltd to connect Nigerians to foreign jobs in Kuwait, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and Scandinavian countries, among others.
UTEL Ltd, a Nigerian subsidiary of Unique Agency Kuwait- a leading provider of expatriate employees for the government agencies and departments in the State of Kuwait.
National Coordinator, National Talent Export Programme, NATEP, Dr Dr Femi Adeluyi in a statement said signing of the MoU marks another milestone of the present administration in ensuring that Nigerians have access to quality employment opportunities.
According to him, “These employment opportunities could be direct employment and emigration of our talent or utilisation of the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) model for gainful and meaningful employment for those based in Nigeria.”
“Through NATEP, Nigeria can honourably export her talents in a mutually beneficial and reputation preserving way, putting an end to illegal migration and the embarrassment therefrom to the country.”
Dr Adeluyi explained that move was in line with the Federal Government’s aim to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with nations and global institutions to facilitate the provision jobs for Nigerians.
“During the ceremony, an announcement was made about openings for two hundred and fifty (250) foreign jobs for Nigerians.”
“Nigerians in diaspora are known to rise like cream to the top of their professions and data validates this notion. For example, research from the Migration Policy Institute Washington-DC, indicates that more than have of Nigerian immigrants (54%) are likely to occupy management positions, compared to 32% of other immigrants and 39% of the US-born population.” He said.
“Similarly, the 2021 Office for National Statistic Report from the United Kingdom (UK) showed that 44% of adult residents born outside the UK have some form of qualification, compared to 31% of UK-born residents, while 66% Nigeria immigrants have received one form of qualification or another.”
“In efforts to promote talent and services export, as well as managed migration, the MoU specified a “1+2” approach for the partnership.”
“With this approach, for every Nigerian that is selected for a foreign job through NATEP, the partners will commit to helping connect an outsourced role to the Nigerian BPO ecosystem and also support in the training a Nigerian to refresh the local workforce.” Dr Adeluyi added.
He stated that the Nigerian Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, supervised the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony between the Ministry and UTEL Ltd.
Olusola Akintonde
