Development planning and employment generations: achievements, challenges and prospects in Nigeria

Abstract

Development planning has been a consistent phenomenon in Nigerian  administration since 1946. The Nigerian government has aspired to achieve development through the use of various types of plans. These plans have stressed the importance of manpower development, utilization, promotion and creation of job opportunities. The impact of these programmes and policies on employment generations over the years is yet to be  determined. This paper assessed the achievements, challenges and  prospects of these policies on employment generation from 1970 to 2008. The paper mainly utilizes secondary data through the analysis of books,  journals, reports and electronic sources. Data collected were analysed using simple descriptive statistics. Results indicate that the various schemes  have not made much impact in terms of employment generation. However, it shows that much progress was made in terms of employment generation during the era of fixed medium term planning in Nigeria. It further  revealed that the public sector dominated the employment sector within the period under review. Flawed policy, collapse of investment and financial  intermediation among others were identified as the major challenges facing employment generation in Nigeria. Among other issues, the paper calls for policy alignment and political will on the part of government. It further calls for all embracing employment policies including the various stakeholders particularly the private sector.

Keywords: Planning, employment, policy, poverty