No fewer than 223 young school graduates from Borno State have been recommended for international scholarship and employment opportunities in federal government agencies and private corporate entities.
Our correspondent learnt yesterday that the opportunities were sourced after Governor Babagana Zulum launched an online programme to help thousands of unemployed youths secure jobs and further education.
The beneficiaries were selected from hundreds of applicants who registered with their curriculum vitae (CVs) with the Borno Online Jobs Portal (BOJOBS) launched in September this year.
“More than 223 unemployed graduates have been recommended for different job opportunities, mostly at the federal government level and some, in the private sector,” said Dr. Babagana Mustapha, the state Commissioner, Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation. Our correspondent also gathered that having created the portal, Dr. Mustapha played crucial role in the innovation that led to the mass enrolment of educated-but-jobless young people in the state.
The commissioner explained that among the 223 applicants who were selected based on requirements of the potential employers, 26 were Bachelor’s degree (BSc) holders while 15 others have masters degrees (MSc). He further explained that they were recommended to the Federal Character Commission to fill possible employment slots at the federal civil service in relevant disciplines.
He noted that additional 50 applicants were nominated for scholarship award by the government of Japan, while an equal number (50) was recommended to MTN mobile telecommunications company for consideration in field marketing. In addition, 50 applicants were selected for train-the-trainer internship programme in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) education, with eight more recommended for employment at a federal fishery institution.