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Shortage of Manpower – Canadian Employers Willing To Hire Workers Without Direct Experience

By
Ojukwu Emmanuel
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0

A new study revealed that Canadian employers are willing to hire workers without experience related to the job, due to a tight labor market.

The Canadian government also announced that the country is faced with an acute shortage of manpower, and is inviting other foreign nationals to fill existing vacancies in various sectors of the country’s economy.

The labor shortage in the country is said to have reached an all-time high of one million. Canada has an aging population with declining birth rates and immigration is one major avenue that employers of labor are employing to fill the existing vacancies in organizations to support economic growth.

A survey carried out, disclosed that a large percentage of employers in Canada, disclosed that their company would consider hiring an applicant who does not possess a degree or certification that is related to the job, rather they will go ahead to offer on-the-job training to new workers.

The country is presently faced with the tightest labor market they have ever had, which saw the unemployment rate fall to 5.1% in May, which is reported to be the lowest rate since 1976.

A survey poll revealed that employers in Canada are more likely to hire an employee based on soft skills such as communication, problem-solving, creative thinking, adaptability, attention to detail, etc, rather than hard or technical skills.

This means that regardless of whether an employee possesses a hard skill or not, employers in Canada are more concerned about what they can contribute in terms of attributes, and what soft skills they can bring to the role.

This shows that those who do not possess any hard/technical skills have the opportunity of still being employed. No doubt employee skills and the ability of employers to attract and retain skilled workers will definitely impact the country’s economic success.

With a land mass of 9,985 million km2, currently the second-largest country in the world, it is not far-fetched that there is a shortage of manpower in Canada, which is why the country has remained open to receiving immigrants since the 1980s.

There are already thousands of unified jobs across Canada in all sectors of the country. If the country doesn’t open its door to immigrants, there will be a decrease in the ability of companies to match available jobs with available workers which will have a high impact on the country’s inability to innovate and improve competitiveness to compete globally.

Immigrants contribute to the economy and create jobs for Canadians. Thanks to immigration, Canada’s labour force continues to grow by a small amount every year. If it weren’t for immigrants, employers would have trouble finding enough qualified workers to fill available jobs.

Lagos-based LaVida Studios Secures $50m Investment, Signs Partnership Deal with The Story Lab

By
Samuel Nwite
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The inflow of investment funds into Nigeria, which has been largely focused on tech, has touched the entertainment industry – a sector of Nigeria’s economy that has been sidelined as the country records huge numbers in foreign investment.

Lagos-based LaVida Studios has secured $50 million production investment and signed a partnership deal with The Story Lab US, a subsidiary of Dentsu.

“We are thrilled to be working together with Dentsu and its The Story Lab team in the U.S. to bring authentic and compelling African stories to the world,” Chioma Ude, founder of AFRIFF and managing partner in LaVida Studios, said.

The three-year deal with The Story Lab will birth 10 films and television properties which will showcase African stories on the global stage. Covering both scripted and unscripted film and TV projects, the partnership will see production handled by LaVida Studios for all Africa-based production out of The Story Lab.

The Story Lab invests in talented creators and producers to develop entertainment that challenges storytelling conventions. It also innovates the way entertainment is packaged, distributed and marketed to reach global audiences.

“It is partnerships like this one which really help move the dial when it comes to discovering and elevating emerging talent. I’m so pleased we can be part of amplifying the diverse voices of Africa alongside our friends at LaVida and AFRIFF,” Mike Ferry, head of The Story Lab U.S. said.

LaVida is supported by PAC Capital Limited with an initial $50 million for LaVida’s film and TV projects, including the collaboration with The Story Lab. The funding comes from PAC Capital’s Pan African CCI Fund 1, a $100 million fund dedicated to financing film production and distribution in Africa.

Also, both LaVida and Dentsu are working on collaborating with the African International Film Festival (AFRIFF) to create a joint initiative, which would recruit and support top African writing talent in creating original stories that appeal to a global audience.

“The combination of LaVida’s partnerships with top Nigerian creators and Dentsu’s global network and presence will serve as a bridge between these top content creators and the global market through this collaboration. We are honored to bring these stories to the world,” Geneva Wasserman, executive VP and head of scripted content, The Story Lab U.S said.

LaVida Studios and Chioma Ude are represented by CAA and The Story Lab US is represented by UTA.

Nigeria’s Nollywood is the second-largest film sector globally with a projected worth of $6.4 billion in 2021. It is also Africa’s largest in terms of value, number of annual films, revenue and popularity – producing around 2,500 films annually.

In recent years, the industry has seen a new phase of skit-making being spearheaded by young talents. With the rising popularity of short-form films that is increasingly adding millions of dollars to the industry’s market value, investors are expected to follow The Story Lab’s steps by betting more money on Nigerian film companies.

International Brands are ripping off Nigerian creatives

By
Stanley Alieke
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I just got a document sent to me by a client who is a popular Nigerian entertainer. The document is a partnership agreement proposal from a massive international brand that is into fintech. They want to endorse my client to partner with them as an influencer/brand Ambassador in Nigeria to promote the brand in Nigeria for the brand to penetrate the Nigerian market.

After I finished going through the partnership agreement proposal I was livid. The contractual terms were well engrossed with the phrase “rip off”. The clauses were couched in a way to have the entertainer work for the brand as a slave for a meager sum. It was nothing less than total slavery.

Unfortunately, this is not far from the majority of the deals most Nigerian entertainers get from these “big companies” and the entertainers will grab it and welcome it with both hands. I have been privy to most of the partnership agreements and I have worked and drafted some, so this is first-hand information and not some hearsay. 

Some of the notable clauses that caught my attention in this partnership agreement proposal that my client forwarded to me was the one that states that the partnership deal between my client and the company is to last for just six months and after the expiration of the six months term my client is not allowed to take a deal from any other brand that is in a similar line of trade with this company for the period of twelve months. Another clause states that my client is bound by confidentiality for the period of seven years after the expiration of the contract term. Another clause in the contract agreement states that my client should assign his intellectual property rights that emanate from the cause of this partnership to the company for life.

Some of these international brands are big bullies and extortionists who are prying on the desperation of some Nigerian creatives to land deals in order to make money and escape poverty due to the economic situation of the country. The fee they are proposing to pay my client after all these strict and stringent clauses they inputted into the contract is just a meager sum.

Nigerian creatives should stop being desperate and stop selling themselves cheap. Any brand that discovers that you are very desperate will never value you and will always throw insults at you disguising them as deals and expecting you to grab them with both hands.

I have always tried to advise clients in the entertainment space to turn down some offers or we can amend the offer and send back our proposal to the company offering the deal but most of the entertainers always say no and that they will accept the offer the way it came because they have no idea when next offer will come and some that listened to me about making adjustment on the offer and sending it back to the brand end up getting a better deal.

International brands are really ripping Nigerian creatives off because they are paid a little and expected to deliver a high target. Creatives should stop selling themselves short, you all deserve better.

Roe v. Wade law is overturned by the USA’s Supreme Court: Yet another divisive issue to bring chaos to America

By
Dr Kaze Armel
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For the past 50 years, ever since America’s Supreme court decision on Roe V. Wade, women in America have had the right to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Since June 25th, 2022, that right has gone away. The law has been passed by the majority of the Court, it has been erased from the law book and this shocking change is about to bring division in America’s states, which will be deciding for themselves whether the Roe v. Wade law should be kept or not.

The abortion flash point all across the USA, a wave of new restrictions gaining steam in states far beyond Alabama and Missouri are putting into place strict anti-abortion laws. The public opinion, especially among women in the USA, is clear that this major change is taking away women’s right to choose. A right that has been in place for nearly 50 years. Forced motherhood is illegitimate.

It’s no secret, that these are some of the most extreme abortion laws America’s ever seen. In fact, Alabama and Missouri have made abortion a crime, even in the case of rape and incest. And for some Republicans, this is a step too far. For instance, Ex-President Trump tweeted last year that he is strongly pro-life with the three exceptions: rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother. The same position was taken by Ronald Reagan. However, those three exceptions are still bullshit because it is still taking away a woman’s right to choose what to do with her own body. It is just simple as that. So far, it just seems reasonable by comparison. So, for every woman in America now who wants to be in control of her own body, this is a scary time.

Abortion has been one of the most divisive issues like racism in the United States, with opponents citing religious beliefs to declare it immoral, while abortion rights advocates say a woman should have the right to choose on matters affecting her body. Now that the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade abortion law, Americans worry what other laws might be facing the same fate. Same-sex marriage? Right to contraception?

All this chaos started in May 2022 when the U.S Supreme Court leaked a draft opinion, which was published by the Journal Politico, stating its intentions to overturn the historic Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide. The leak has triggered a shock wave through the country, with a mass of people protesting about overturning the « right » to abortion. Now that this law has been finally overturned, opponents or pro-life people think that overturning Roe’s abortion law will save many innocent lives.

In a historic decision powered by its conservative majority, the US Supreme Court did not only uphold a Mississippi law banning abortion after fifteen weeks, it took the additional step of overturning the Roe v. Wade abortion law, leaving the issue up to the states. The outcome of this or the immediate effect of this will be to uphold the Mississippi law that would ban abortion law after fifteen weeks. But this also means that, in roughly half of the country, abortion is as of now or soon will be illegal Thirteen states have already triggered laws that were intended to make Roe v. Wade’s abortion law illegal in those states.

Up to now, opinion polls show a majority of Americans support abortion rights. However, according to medical experts, the abortion must be made in the first six weeks of pregnancy. Roe v. Wade granted American women that constitutional right back in 1973. But according to many observers such as conservative Samuel Alito, Roe v. Wade was wrong from the start and stated that this law was about terminating a life rather than protecting women.

Where is this chaos taking America?

 A growing number of the U.S States such as Oklahoma among others are moving to restrict access to abortion now that is formally overturned by the Supreme Court. This has become a direct assault on the dignity, rights, and lives of American women living in those states, not to mention decades of settled law.

Overturning this decision leaves abortion access to States to make their own decision. In fact, several states like Georgia, Alabama, and Missouri already have laws in place to ban abortion nationwide. In those states, doctors caught performing an abortion might face a heavy sentence of up to 99 years in jail. Yes, 99 years behind bars.

Many Americans are pissed off because of extreme laws in place of anti-abortion. It is no secret that these are some of the extreme laws America’s ever seen. The American States like Alabama have gone far by making abortion a crime. Women in Alabama or Missouri can’t even get an Uber to get to an abortion clinic. Many drivers have to cancel their routes in fear of getting sued just for transporting a woman to an abortion clinic. Far worse, even if a woman from Alabama goes into another state that allows abortion, on her way back she could get finned up to US$100.000, or worse, going to jail!

Now that the abortion right is overturned, the legal fate of abortion is left up to individual states. However, abortion is likely to remain legal in some states, especially liberal states despite the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe’s law. But so far, since the law is finally overturned, abortion is likely possible to remain legal for some time. For instance, a dozen states have already laws in place protecting abortion rights. But, there are also other states, mostly Republican-led states, which have passed already laws against abortion in defiance of Roe v. Wade and support the Supreme Court decision.

OSUN 2022: APC Joins PDP in Attack Campaign Strategy and Vote Buying Incentives Deployment as Election Approaches

By
Mutiu Iyanda
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The All Progressives Congress has joined the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party, in using an attack campaign strategy with 22 days until the Osun 2022 governorship election, according to Positive Agenda Nigeria, which has been observing activities of political parties and their supporters on various media. The organization notes that the opposition party has been utilizing the strategy mostly since April 6, 2022, while the ruling party has continued to use it sparingly over the course of the prior weeks of monitoring.

In its seventh report of the monitoring, the non-governmental organization notes that the vote-buying controversy that had been discussed in various media over the previous weeks eventually materialized in some cities and towns, where members of the ruling party and opposition distributed various incentives to the electorate. The report contained proof that breads and beans had been distributed.

The organisation notes that findings for Week 7 indicate that the two main political parties adopted attacking and defensive strategies for their campaign messages more strongly than messages promoting their candidates. This implies that when one party accused the other, the other issues rejoinders (e.g., press statement, press conference) to debunk the allegations, and vice-versa. Dominant among such allegations that led to verbal attacks and defenses included thug-related violence, killing and voter inducements. Essentially, vote-buying was discussed mainly in relation to possible electoral violence during the poll. Then, rigging through collusion with security agencies, the INEC and political thugs were communicated by the main opposition party as part of their attacking strategies.

“Despite that the two main political parties advocated violence-free election, they accused each other of sponsoring some political thugs to harm each other’s strong supporters. Then, despite that the two parties admonished their supporters and the general people of Osun to collect the PVCs, and desist from selling their votes, some pictures (e.g., packaged rice and white beans) that suggested alleged inducement of potential voters by the two parties surfaced on Facebook and Twitter. If these were really inducements as alleged by digital natives, it means stomach infrastructure is still much an active tool politicians use to woo potential voters with a view to influencing their voting pattern. This is dangerous for the true representation of people’s choices.

In spite of the accusations and counter-accusations, supporters and members of the two parties seriously sought votes for their candidates through the communication infrastructure— Facebook, Twitter, campaign grounds, jingles and newspapers. As they canvassed votes, discussions on education dropped while issues related to economy and infrastructure picked. Moreover, the fact that the potential voters in Osun were more interested in knowing more about employment, security and agriculture in week 7 is insightful.

The political parties, had they had factored in the search interest of Osun citizens in planning their campaign messages, would have discussed the issues that would interest the citizens in convincing detail. Instead, the political actors engaged them (the public) on unrelated issues and infrastructure as observed in the parties’ campaign speeches.”

In addition, the ruling party remains the only political party that had significantly engaged the public across the campaign issues in the last seven weeks while the People’s Democratic Party remains the only opposition party that trailed the ruling party in engaging the public. The smaller opposition parties (SDP, Labour, and Accord) also had some slight changes in engaging the public on their campaign promises.

“Finally, we reiterate the recommendations we made in week 6. That is, we urge the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to partner with security agents in the state with a view to ensuring lives and property of voters are protected on the election day. Political thuggery and life-threatening vandalism should not return to the political atmosphere in Osun. We also urge the INEC to convene meetings of political stakeholders in the state where issues relating to vote buying, voter inducements and violence alongside the legal penalties for offenders will be discussed.

In addition, as election draws nearer, we specifically suggest that the two main political parties convene meetings among their media teams and handlers, and enlighten them on the need for decorum and strategic issue-based campaigns across their online platforms. This, we believe, will reduce the toxic political atmosphere being observed in Osun online-sphere. Importantly, political parties in the state should desist from unnecessary heating of the polity with their unsubstantiated allegations and counter-allegations— If they have evidence of committed violence by a party or its supporters, they should report to the appropriate authorities. All political parties should understand that elections are seasonal; they will come and go, but the state remains.”

The full report is available here

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