More than 1,000 unemployed graduates gathered at the Modotels Hotel in Enugu yesterday, to try their luck in a job fair put together by SURE-P under the Graduate Internship Scheme. Under the programme, successful candidates will be employed by private firms but paid by the government for a period of one year.
Principal consultant for Mercy Ferg-sons Consults, Joel Eneogwe, whose company is handling the Enugu match-making between firms and the job seekers, explained:  “What we are doing today is called job fair, which is an opportunity offered to unemployed graduates to get employment under the Federal Government SURE-P scheme.
“This scheme is part of the transformation agenda in helping to solve unemployment particularly, youth unemployment in the country. Today is the turn of Enugu State and we are hosting over 500 unemployed graduates with nearly 100 firms participating.
“The essence here is that in the past firms had been asked to enlist on-line in the SURE-P programme to engage graduates, in which case, they were just given graduates who were matched with their needs and specifications. But SURE-P has a second thought and said, let them reach them physically.
“Therefore, every firm is having an opportunity to interview the graduates’ one on one and if they find them good enough, they engage them here and now.
“The banks into which the Federal Government will be paying the funds are here and the funds will be remitted straight to the banks to pay the interns according to the bank details they have provided.”
Explaining why it was strictly for graduates, Mr. Eneogwe noted that there were lots of programmes organised under SURE-P programmes for women, artisans, taxi drivers and so on, adding that successful participants would be engaged for a period of one year and paid allowances by the Federal Government.
“It is expected that when the interns do very well the company’s may have cause to say we will continue and take responsibility or liability. There may also be a review of the programme based on budget; the federal government may also have a different scheme for those who have succeeded here.
“So what is there is that this process is expected to give growth and exposure, skill acquisition to those who put interest in it from where they can make very well articulations and get better engaged subsequently.
“So the government is using this to encourage companies to note that there are those that needs to be employed, that they need expansion; it’s also using it to encourage the unemployed graduates to do better and well.”
ENDS

Over 1,000 unemployed graduates scramble for SURE-P job in Enugu