According to a recent report released by Stutern, there is widespread under compensation of Nigerian graduates at local companies. 75 percent of new graduates earn less than N50,000 per month ($125) in their first jobs, of which one out of four new graduates earn less than N20,000 ($50) as their first salary in Nigeria. Stutern is an online platform that connects young talents with employers in Africa for internships and entry-level jobs.
“Graduate unemployment is a massive waste of resources – 36.26% of our graduates are unemployed. But what could be worse is the under-compensation of talent. It has implications for security, health, and economic growth,” said Kehinde Ayanleye, Co-founder of Stutern.
The employability of Nigerian graduates has been a prominent theme in entrepreneurial conversations in Nigeria.
“We intend to create the perfect transition for graduates through internships so that at the end of their studies, they would have a good knowledge of the job and be more confident in how much they are worth and are able to earn justifiable income,” Taiwo Ayanleye, Co-founder of Stutern, said.
Major findings from the study
The study revealed that graduates from Covenant University are the most employable in Nigeria while the University of Ilorin ranks as the top university in terms of return on investment.
According to the report, the education sector absorbs most graduates for their first jobs. This trend could be a function of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) program where most graduates are mandated to teach at secondary schools. The technology, nonprofit, banking, and finance sectors begin to absorb more graduates as they get their second jobs.
Most graduates said that communication skill and the knowledge of the job are the two least skills their academic institution prepared them for.
From the survey, most graduates said that communication skill and the knowledge of the job are the two least skills their academic institution prepared them for.
Computer Science is the most employable course in Nigeria followed by Economics and then Electrical Electronics Engineering.
Ordinary National Diploma (OND) and Higher National Diploma (HND) degree holders are the least employed while MBA & PhD are the most employed.
Credit: Stutern
