The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has put the number of jobs created by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at 59,647,954, as of December 2017.
The survey which was presented recently has it that the male gender accounted for 57percent of jobs created by SMEs, compared to the recorded 43percent for women. Whereas more males were employed in total, both in micro and small/medium enterprises, there was a greater disparity amongst employees, within SMEs.
The survey, however, noted that education sector is the only sector with gender parity in jobs (53percent women) while the manufacturing sector of SMEs employed three times more males than females.
The report, however, said that only 34percent of micro enterprises could find ready availability of qualified personnel while 77.1 percent of small and medium enterprises say there is availability of qualified personnel.
The survey listed the challenges of the business to include, vulnerability to economic shocks, excessive regulation, complex and cumbersome tax process and skills acquisition for youth population.
According to the report, “sectors that require specialised skills and technical know-how suffer from high skills shortage. Micro enterprises find the highest skills shortage in sectors that are consumer facing, with the exception of manufacturing which also requires specialised skills. Accommodation and Food Services are both severely short- skilled for both business classifications.
“Conversely, key benefits of the jobs created by the sector within the period include, improved income re-distribution (low level capital required), increased job creation and skills development (particularly for youth, women, elderly); increased adoption of technology and innovation (competitiveness); industrial diversification and stimulatation of local economy (demand down the value chain).