Labour Market Demand And University Graduate Employability Skills
[A CASE STUDY OF NORTH-WEST NIGERIA]

        Over the years, the internet has had a big impact on recruitment, selection and job search (Green, De Hoyos, Li & Owen, 2011).  With the introduction of the internet, the volume of job adverts in the print media has declined significantly. However, the internet may be used in tandem with other methods of recruitment. A newspaper advert or an advert in a shop window may direct a job seeker to a website for details of how to apply for a vacancy. While Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has become increasingly important for individuals in accessing jobs, some traditional recruitment methods remain important. In a slack labour market, some employers may be increasingly likely to use informal methods of recruitment, rather than to bear the costs of formal recruitment methods (Atfield, Green, Purecell, Staniewicz & Owen, 2011). The rise of internet, through job mobility portal, has created avenues for bringing together vacancies across public employment services in different countries and of submission of job applications electronically. This means that job seekers can search for vacancies more quickly and over a wider geographical area than was formerly the case (Green, et al, 2011). While the internet remains a powerful tool for job seekers, Tunstall, Lupton, Green, Whatmough and Bates (2012) expressed that there is a danger that relative case of electronic application may lead to job seekers either adopting an inefficient scattergun approach of relatively large numbers of untargeted applications as opposed to a more efficient targeted approach, or become too reliant on the internet and neglect other job search methods. This might include “hiding behind the internet” rather than adopting a more proactive strategy involving making contact with employers.
        The major producers of employment and labour statistics are Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, National Bureau of Statistics and National Manpower Board. According to these agencies, sources of compiling employment and labour statistics can be grouped into three. These are;
(a)    population census.
(b)    household-based surveys, establishment censuses and surveys.
(c)    administrative sources
Population Census
    A population census is conducted at regular intervals of ten years in most countries. The National Population Commission (NPC) is responsible for conducting population censuses in Nigeria. Population data such as ages, locations and gender-specific aggregations of individuals are usually made available to users by the NPC. Aggregation and cross-tabulation by employment categories and other attributes are also made available on request from the NPC whose data processing activities are computerized. It should be noted that population census data are also relevant in the production of employment statistics as a basis for validating and projecting survey-based estimates and also as denominator variables for computing important employment indicators.