Firstly, this article is important because you need to know where the trends are flowing to if you want to remain relevant in life and society. So you need to read to the end.
We are trying to become prophets and tell you what must happen but we are predicting the future with current data we have and former trends we have seen.
PAST TRENDS
Let's start with the past trends of jobs in Nigeria since independence.
In 1960, agriculture was the major source of income for the people and for the government. It provided food for the people and revenue for the government.
Helped in getting raw materials for other industries and export materials that generated foreign exchange.
In 1970, oil happened and we forgot about agriculture. Agriculture became the poor man?`s job and anybody doing it was not regarded highly.
Jobs started to change face. The trend now changed to people becoming technicians and engineers. The money gotten from oil helped other sectors like education and civil service to grow rapidly. That was when Nigeria started fancying the idea of white collar jobs.
People graduated and got jobs immediately. Things were good for everyone.
In the 1980s, there was a global economic recession and Nigeria was not ready to deal with such magnitude of poverty. Things receded because we were a major importing economy.
That was the era of Ghana-Must-Go? and Structural Adjustment Programme.
In the 1990s, people became wise and decided to fend for themselves. People started shooting
Private jobs took off in areas of science and technology. It was now generally acceptable to say your full-time job is to play football or act movie or any of the arts that were not before time considered serious.
In the 2000s telecommunications entered and changed the job landscape in Nigeria.
People became in love with telecommunications. Everybody wanted to work in MTN, Glo and the likes. Oil prices started rising again so people also loved oil but people had gotten wise.
A lot of people were no longer waiting for the government and the tides to turn in any way before they could survive. People took their survival personal and took initiatives for their life.
That was when the entrepreneurship flu infected everybody. They sought out ways and created jobs that were previously none existent. They no longer waited. Seemingly awkward jobs started rising everywhere.
Jobs like event management, digital marketers, waste recycling computer programming etc started springing up and the normal citizens on the street were the people championing the cause.
FUTURE OF JOBS
It?`s getting worse and that is why we are writing this. It's getting to the point where you are not just competing with low jobs or other people, it has gotten to a point where you are also competing with robots that are more efficient than you.
Think we are joking, visit willrobotstakemyjob.com to know how safe your job is in the coming years
Judging from past trends, we can predict some things about jobs
- YOUR SURVIVAL DOES NOT COME FROM ANYBODY
Future jobs in Nigeria will not stem from the government or your uncle. Look around you, take an online survey and you will find out
The majority of jobs are jobs they gotten through an exhibition of skills and capabilities.
The tech sector with all the programming of websites and mobile apps has had little or no input from the government and it is not somewhere you enter because your brother is the chairman. It is a place you enter because you have demonstrated your ability to deliver. We are talking about a billion dollar sector in Nigeria.
The film industry grew so big and the only involvement we can remember from the government is the Three billion Naira given to them from the last administration.
The big names you are hearing today are majorly people that didnt wait for the government to set up structures to help them build their business. They didnt wait for all to be ready before they started working and became successful.
Neither should you if you want to have a job.
The moment you start waiting for a federal civil service job or that your uncle in Aso Rock to help you, you are already shooting yourself in the foot.
Are we saying the government should set up businesses for the citizens? No. We are saying that there is no structural help from the government or enabling environment for businesses to thrive neither is there an assurance that your uncle will help you.
- PEOPLE ARE TAKING INITIATIVES AND THEY ARE NOT BETTER THAN YOU
The future jobs in Nigeria will be owned by people who have the same challenges you do yet decide to take the bull by the horn and find jobs either by creating it or by becoming employees in one.
People in the past realized that they trusted in
This also goes to say that creativity, doggedness, and leadership will be core skills needed for future jobs in Nigeria.
- THE WORLD IS ALREADY MOVING ON AND PEOPLE WITHOUT THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE TRENDS WILL BE LEFT BEHIND SOON
Why are we taking off time from our very busy schedule to write this and inform you? Because we see thousands and millions of people just moving around in life without knowing where they are heading to. No knowledge of what happened, what is happening and what will happen.
People are still investing their life, money, and energy into something that is going extinct. It is synonymous to using all your money to invest in VCR cassettes because that was the reigning thing in the 90s and early 2000?`s so you feel an attachment to it.
We wrote a whole article on technologies that are disrupting jobs all over the world here. It will be in your best interest to read it if you want to know trends and disruptions happening all over the world.
- THE LEADING JOBS ARE JOBS NOT CREATED BY THE GOVERNMENT BUT BY THE PEOPLE
Recently I came across a tweet that was investigating to know the sectors and industries that are thriving in Nigeria and among the sectors that where called (tech and entertainment) were sectors that are spearheaded by individuals and the private sector.
It actually turns out the government seems to be their limiting factors.
The jobs of today are done by people who saw a need in the society and decided to equip themselves to
They saw that companies no longer need in house accountants to fend off the tax man and they trained to be accountants.
They saw that companies are striving to get a website and they became web developers.
They saw that companies are looking for business consultants to help them grow so they became consultants and the list goes on like that.
The future jobs in Nigeria will be jobs that are solving real-time needs and not just jobs where people go to the office, sit down and talk all day like is done in many government jobs.
Based on the information so far, we will be looking at some jobs that will dominate the future in Nigeria.
- Digital Marketing
Digital Marketers are people who help companies sell their goods and products online. They skillfully combine websites and the social media to showcase any product, service or idea to the people who need to hear them.
They produce and promote content that advertises a brand to their customers and they also manage the online reputation of the company
- Business Analysts
They see to the implementation and support of business systems. They look out for possible problems that may arise and make sure it does not cripple the business and also seek out opportunities for growth for the growth.
He or she also collaborates with other departments to make sure the company is working smoothly.
This job is yet scarce in Nigeria but the demand is quickly rising.
- Clean Energy Jobs
These are jobs that help install clean energy like wind and solar energy. Due to the inability of the National Electricity to supply sufficient power to the country, people are now looking for alternative clean energy that will
- Software Developer
These guys develop software that helps institutions reduce their workload and friction in the workplace.
They create websites, mobile applications, banking software?`s, school management systems, and a whole lot of things that can be done in an electrical appliance.
Out of all the jobs listed here, they are currently the highest earners.
The good thing is, you dont necessarily need a degree in any of these courses to get a job in these fields. Jobs like Digital Marketing is not yet done by any university in Nigeria but the good thing is that there are institutions on the ground in Nigeria that has gone ahead of the trend to offer such courses and one of such (the best of such actually) is Digital Dreams Limited.
They also offer other wonderful courses that help you take advantage of the coming job trend.
With the future jobs in Nigeria changing drastically from what it used to be, you need to position yourself strategically.
Article Written by Igboekwe Ebuka collins
If only we understand what is coming in the nearest future, we will probably start now to increase and equip ourselves with the necessary skills neede...