Blue-collar sourcing from Nigeria
Many foreign companies would prefer blue-collar sourcing from Nigeria or other African countries to be the solution and a secret weapon against the shortage of skilled workers, nurses, or technicians going on across the world. Because recruiting and filling these commercial, and technical roles are becoming more and more stagnant. With the recruitment shift going on around the world, it has become a practice to get qualified professionals from Africa. In other to save costs and get the best talent possible. We received more requests for blue-collar staff from European, America, and some Middle East countries in 2022 and now also in 2023.
The questions we were asked range from “the options for filling commercial, technical, social, or medical jobs with active sourcing”, to “the possibility of hiring and getting a qualified candidate”
This blog post is intended to clarify what exactly is meant by blue-collar sourcing. And we will show the actual opportunities in Nigeria, but also the limitations of this approach.
What is Blue-Collar Sourcing?
The old definition of a “blue-collar job” was a stereotype: a job that was primarily or exclusively manual labor. The term was derived from the “blue men”, the blue overalls traditionally worn in factories. This definition contrasts with the so-called “white collar jobs”, the jobs held by employees with white collars, i.e. office workers.
However, today’s definition of “blue collar” is much broader ( more here at ArtisanOga ).
“Basically, the blue-collar jobs are simply the jobs of the non-academic labor market.”
Whereby many who use this definition exclude all commercial employees (without a degree) and count them among the “white collar jobs”. This is also our definition below.
How big is the Nigeria blue-collar workforce?
As you might expect, blue-collar jobs make up the larger part of Nigeria’s labor market. And compared to the white-collar sector, which essentially includes not only academics and office workers. This is huge at around 75% of the labor market. Though this is true with other foreign countries, the gap in Africa is inexhaustible. Here, the shortage of skilled workers is particularly painful for companies, especially since the expansion of the Tech Industry. This increases the pressure to fill blue-collar positions.
Nigeria
Statista writes (here): In December 2022, Nigeria has a labor force of over 80 million people. Approximately 60 million people in these were employed, this represented an increase from around 58 million in the preceding year. Since 2010, the working population in Nigeria has remained above 50 million. Specifically, 16.1 million individuals between the ages of 25-34 years had a form of employment, while 16 million people aged 35-44 years were fully or under-employed. According to Premuimtimes: Over 2.8 million of the about 7 million first-degree graduates are unemployed in 2020. This means that more than 32.1 million Nigerians are employed and the remaining 48 million educated Nigerians are unemployed.
The current unemployment rate in Nigeria is far above the 33.28 percent recorded in 2010. Between 2020 and 2022, the unemployment rate grew. However, these data were calculated according to the Nigerian methodology. Based on the most common international methodology, the unemployment rate in Nigeria stood at 27 percent.
The NEW Nigeria methodology defines an unemployed labor force who did not work at all or worked for less than 20 hours a week. The international definition, instead, includes people aged 15 years to 64 years old who were available for work, actively seeking work, but were unable to find work. Meaning there are many able hands in the streets of Nigeria looking for Jobs.
Fact-check: There are more unemployed skilled professionals In Nigeria than in any country in Africa.
What is a blue-collar job exactly?
For a long time now, the blue-collar job sector has not only been about the workers or wage workers. Although most people still have that in their heads, Jobs on construction sites, in factories, in road construction, etc.
Today, the job definition for a blue-collar job is no longer set in terms of low skill level or paying a wage, the majority are now employed and earning a salary. Today, blue-collar employees can just as easily be highly qualified or currently in training just like White-collars.
Many of these tasks require a long period of training and are regulated by legal and other regulations such as health and medicine in the exercise of their jobs (nursing specialists or safety requirements in energy, such as fitters in overhead line construction).
Which professions belong to the blue-collar workforce in Nigeria?
1. Not yet graduates are also included:
Basically, everyone is
- student assistants,
- working students,
- Volunteers or
- interns,
These are also part of the blue-collar workforce during their studies. Low salary, special contracts such as a mini job, very short and/or limited assignments, or semi-skilled status are further indications that it is a blue-collar job.
2. Blue-collar jobs that require training and a high school diploma
- all training Apprenticeship – here more,
- all craft professions
- also all business administrators, master craftsmen, and technicians
3. Blue-collar jobs without training, with a school leaving certificate and often additional qualifications (such as a driver’s license).
- Courier driver
- Caterer
- Nursing Assistant
- Helper in the sales department
- Helper in the field of electronics
- Picker
- Delivery driver
- Nanny
- Service employees
- Parcel deliverer
- Truck driver
- Forklift driver
- Fitters etc.
4. Blue-collar jobs without training and without a school-leaving certificate (often little or no knowledge of) such as:
- Warehouse Assistant
- Asphalt
- Construction helper
- Production Assistant
- Kitchen helper
- Cleaner
- Maid
- Service employees etc.
How to Hire Blue Collar Workers From Nigeria
The procedure for attracting Blue-collar workers will depend on the country in which you are hiring and the status you prefer.
The status might include:
- temporarily staying (received a migration card, but does not have a residence permit or temporary residence permit);
- temporarily resident (has a temporary residence permit);
- permanent resident (possesses a residence permit).
General conditions for hiring from Nigeria
In general, there are many blue-collar recruitment companies in Nigeria that can help you with your hiring. It’s advisable to use a specialized service to avoid mistakes and waste of resources. ArtisanOga is a specialized blue-collar recruitment company and has been active in outsourcing since 2016. Our recruitment covers sourcing, background check, guarantor form, payroll management, and other recruitment paperwork.
However, from the hiring person’s end, you need to meet some necessary requirements before you will be able to hire a foreign worker.
These are the following thing you will need to consider.
- Company Structure: You will need to understand your company structure your hiring option. And get the necessary certification. Application for certification may vairies from country to country make sure you understand all you need to hire a foreign employee.
- Get the Blue-collar agency: Get a Blue-collar recruitment agency to help you with the screening and sourcing. There are many benefits of choosing a blue-collar recruitment agency learn more here.
- Conduct an Interview: You should conduct an online interview with the selected candidates using skype or other video conference tool.
- Visa Application process: Apply work visa from immigration services for the selected candidates. The hire person might need a sponsored visa. Lastly, comply with all immigration regulations.
Why should you use our services
Apart from the fact that we are registered and the leading Blue-collar recruitment company in West Africa, we are also known for the following:
- We have a network of the most qualified candidates in all blue-collar sectors.
- We understand the specific skills and experience required for blue-collar jobs.
- We can help you assess candidates based on their qualifications and fit for the job.
- We can guide wage rates and benefits packages.
- We can help you negotiate contracts and terms of employment.
- We have the largest blue-collar talent pool in Africa, Over 2million registered blue-collar workers.
With ArtisanOga, Blue-collar sourcing is possible because we will always deliver!