Travel News

The construction and manufacturing sectors are experiencing intense global competition for entry-level skilled trades talent. As a result, Canada, the United States and Europe are seeking the services of welders, technicians and other highly-skilled manpower.

The construction industry has been a vital force in the European Union’s economy, standing as the leading industrial employer and making a significant contribution to GDP.

As the construction industry undergoes a transformative phase, with an increasing focus on sustainability and digitalisation, certain European countries are emerging as frontrunners in offering lucrative opportunities for construction professionals.

As many as 1.5 million additional workers will be needed to fill construction jobs in Europe between 2023 and 2030 from local and foreign talents, according to the International Trade Union Confederation .

Additionally, the United States has been facing a significant demand for construction workers, with approximately 374,000 job openings as of December 2023.

The reasons for these skills shortage are not far-fetched. According to a 2023 survey by the Associated General Contractors of America, two key supply-side trends are reducing the number of skilled labourers in the workforce: an ageing population and a lack of younger individuals entering the trades.

The increased labour scarcity, further exacerbated by the disruptions caused by COVID-19, has intensified competition for talent, resulting in the sector’s average wages rising by more than 20 percent since the first quarter of 2020.

Job titles within the construction and manufacturing industries typically include welders, electricians, technicians, masons, and carpenters.

Canada

In 2023, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) announced a streamlined immigration pathway for skilled trades workers with specific expertise in carpentry, plumbing and welding due to an aging population and continuous development in infrastructure. Ontario and Saskatchewan have a high demand for these skills. The average salary is $102,899.67 per year with an attractive compensation.

United States

According to McKinsey & Company   the US manufacturing and construction face a hiring crunch for skilled workers such as carpenters, electricians, welders, and plumbers.

Some of the most profitable trade jobs include construction managers with a $101,000 median salary and elevator mechanics with $99,000.

Switzerland

The Swiss construction sector is experiencing a significant growth, driven by government investments in infrastructure, residential developments, and renewable energy projects.

Despite the high cost of living, construction workers in Switzerland benefit from above-average salaries, with an annual average income of €76,591 and a cost of living of around €6,000 per month.

Belgium

Belgium’s construction industry is on the rise, with the sector projected to reach $94.5 billion by 2024.

The country’s open economy and high living standards make it an attractive destination for construction professionals. Belgium offers competitive salaries, averaging €49,545 per year, although the cost of living is relatively high at €3,200 per month.

The Netherlands

The Dutch construction industry contributes approximately €70 billion billion to the national economy, representing 4.5 percent of GDP, and is rapidly expanding. Although the Netherlands is the eighth most expensive country to live in, it offers a good balance between cost and quality of life. Construction workers in the Netherlands can earn an average salary of €38,258. Additionally, the Netherlands is a leader in health and safety on construction sites, with some of the lowest fatal incident rates in the EU, reporting just 0.33 fatalities per 100,000 workers in 2021.

France

France is one of the largest construction markets in Europe, significantly contributing to the industry’s overall value added. The average annual salary for construction workers in France is €31,735, with a cost of living of €3,407 per month. The safety incident rate in the French construction industry stands at 11%.

Italy

Italy, despite being heavily impacted by COVID-19, is on the road to recovery, offering substantial job opportunities in the construction sector. With a low cost of living and salaries averaging €28,019 per year, Italy presents a positive outlook for construction workers seeking to join a resilient workforce. The cost of living in Italy is €3,407 per month, with a safety incident rate of 13 percent.

Germany

Germany is Europe’s leading construction market, offering above-average earnings for construction workers, a relatively low cost of living, and numerous projects. The average annual salary for construction workers in Germany is €29,214, while the cost of living is around €3,223 per month.

Romania

Romania is an excellent location for welders, with abundant opportunities in industries such as oil and gas, dairy, and manufacturing. The average salary for a welder in Romania is approximately Rs. 42,000 per month.

Sweden

Sweden is another attractive destination for welders, boasting a strong manufacturing industry with ample job opportunities in shipbuilding, construction, and other sectors. The average salary for a welder in Sweden is around Rs. 95,000 per month.

Croatia

Croatia offers great opportunities for welders seeking overseas employment, with jobs available in industries such as oil, gas, petrochemicals, nuclear, and renewables. The average salary for a welder in Croatia is around Rs. 52,000 per month.

Hungary

Hungary provides numerous job opportunities for welders in industries such as construction, manufacturing, and the automobile sector. The average salary for a welder in Hungary is around Rs. 30,000 per month.

Estonia

Estonia is a promising option for welders looking for employment abroad, with opportunities in construction management, the automobile industry, and manufacturing. The average salary for a welder in Estonia is around Rs. 70,000 per month.

Olayiwola Ajisafe

The Federal Government has approved an upward review of the fees for the Nigerian passport effective from September 1, 2024.

This was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesman for the Nigeria Immigration Service, Kenneth Udo, on the X handle of the NIS.

The increment aims to ensure the quality and integrity of the Nigerian Standard Passport, Udo said.

 “As part of its efforts to maintain the quality and integrity of the Nigerian Standard Passport, the Federal Government has approved an upward review of the fees for the passport, effective from September 1, 2024.

“Based on the review, a 32-page passport booklet with five-year validity previously charged at N35,000 will now be N50,000 only; while a 64-page passport booklet with 10-year validity which was N70,000 will be N100,000,” the statement read.

The NIS said though it regretted “any inconvenience this increase might cause prospective applicants,” it assured Nigerians of “unwavering commitment to transparency and quality service delivery at all times.”

by Rachael Omidiji

The federal government has announced the upward increment in Nigeria’s passport which will take effect from next month, stating reasons for the increment.

Here are five things to know about the Nigerian passport fees hike

Fee Increase Announcement:

The Federal Government has announced an increase in fees for obtaining Nigerian passports, effective September 1, 2024.

New Passport Fees:

The 32-page passport booklet with a 5-year validity will increase from N35,000 to N50,000, and the 64-page passport booklet with a 10-year validity will rise from N70,000 to N100,000.

“Based on the review, 32-page Passport booklet with 5-year validity previously charged at Thirty-five Thousand Naira (N35,000.00) will now be Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000.00) only; while 64-page Passport booklet with 10-year validity which was Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000.00) will be One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000.00) only,”

No Fee Change for Diaspora:

The passport fees for Nigerians living abroad will remain unchanged.

“However, the fees remain unchanged in Diaspora”

Government’s Rationale:

The fee adjustment is part of the government’s efforts to maintain the quality and security of the Nigerian Standard Passport.

”the fee adjustment is part of the government’s efforts to uphold the quality and security of the Nigerian Standard Passport”

NIS Assurance:

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has expressed regret for any inconvenience caused by the increase and assured the public of continued transparency and quality service delivery.

“While the Nigeria Immigration Service regrets any inconvenience this increase might cause prospective applicants; it assures Nigerians of unwavering commitment to transparency and quality service delivery at all times.”

BY  Chinedu Eze

United Airlines has announced increase in service delivery between Lagos and Washington D.C., from three-times weekly to daily flights.

The daily flights will begin from December 4, 2024 to February 14, 2025, reflecting 133 per cent year-over-year increase in seats for the period.

This will be the first time United’s service between Lagos and Washington D.C. will operate daily and the flight continues to be the only night-time departure from Lagos to the U.S., enabling customers in Nigeria to benefit from more travel options to visit Washington D.C., as well as convenient day-time connections to destinations across the Americas.

Since the launch of United’s Lagos to Washington service in 2021, United has operated flights with state-of-the-art Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft featuring 28 United Polaris business class lie-flat seats, 21 United Premium Plus premium economy seats, 36 Economy Plusseats and 158 standard economy seats. The revolutionary design of the Dreamliner offers customers many features for increased comfort, such as large windows, spacious overhead storage, and modern LED lighting to simulate a full day, helping passengers adjust their internal clock on the transatlantic flight.

United’s Country Sales Manager for Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, Oluwatomi Bola-Sadipe, said: “Africa continues to be an integral part of United’s global network and we are delighted to announce an increase of flights from Lagos to Washington Dulles during the winter season with our state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner aircraft. We are proud to not only offer our customers in Nigeria even greater travel choice when booking their next U.S. getaway, but also provide convenient one-stop connections to over 70 destinations across the Americas, including Houston, Chicago, and New York/Newark.”

The increase of flights from Lagos to Washington D.C. comes as United, this year, expanded its presence on the second largest continent in the world, adding Marrakesh, Morocco to its network in Africa from October 25, 2024. United will be the first and only airline to operate nonstop flights from Marrakesh to the U.S. and operates routes from Cape Town, South Africa to New York/Newark and Washington D.C, Johannesburg, South Africa to New York/Newark and Accra, Ghana to Washington D.C.

Bola-Sadipe explained that United Polaris business class is a premium travel experience that prioritizes relaxation and comfort, featuring quality inflight dining, amenity products and services from Therabody and Saks Fifth Avenue and full flat-bed seats with all aisle access.

United Premium Plus features a spacious seat with more legroom, elbow room and recline than a standard Economy Plus or economy seat, as well as an amenity kit, Saks Fifth Avenue blanket and plush pillow.

United Economy Plus offers added legroom and increased personal space. Located near the front of the economy cabin, the seats give the added benefit of a swifter exit from the plane on arrival. Economy Plus seating is available on all trans-Atlantic flights.

United economy offers complimentary food, soft drinks, juices, beer and wine, tea, coffee and inflight entertainment. On most aircraft, seats feature an adjustable headrest and a personal on-demand entertainment system.

United originally served Nigeria from 2010 to 2016 and resumed service in 2021. Today, United offers customers in Nigeria a nonstop three-times weekly service, increasing to daily during the winter season, from Lagos to Washington, D.C. United customers in Nigeria can book flights online by visiting united.com.

United currently operates over 200 daily flights to 107 destinations across the United States and around the world from its Washington Dulles hub. Washington Dulles serves as the international gateway to the U.S. capital, with United service to 21 world capitals and 29 countries during 2024.

According to United Airlines Director Sales, Continental Europe, Middle East, Africa, Israel and India, Thorsten Lettnin, United has become the largest airline in the world. As pioneer member of Star Alliance, it connects customers to most destinations in the world. The airline also has the largest aircraft on order with a firm order of modern 500 aircraft.  Lettnin indicated that United Airlines would be receiving 100 aircraft every year for five consecutive years.

Also, the United Airlines app is the ultimate travel companion for its customers’ next flight. From planning to booking, and even on the day of travel, this app has got the airline’s customers covered.

United Airlines, African network would comprise the six new routes from its Newark and Washington Dulles hubs. The most significant development is the start of Marrakech, the first time the ever-popular Morrocan city will have US flights.

While it is not news, it is worth summarizing what is happening with United to Morocco. Flights were announced in early March, becoming United’s fifth destination in Africa with its own metal. Until 2024, Marrakech had never had North American flights. Now, it will welcome United and Air Transat (from Montreal).

United’s three weekly services will begin on October 24 and use the 167-seat Boeing 767-300ER. These are its low-capacity machines with 46 Polaris seats, which seems like an enormous number for the route, which will be a mixture of tourists and diaspora.

United routes also include higher-end leisure markets, including Newark to Nice this summer. It will be fascinating to see how the variant does in Morocco, although there are plenty of luxury tours.

Simple Flying reported that United Airlines’ largest transatlantic hub sits across the Hudson River from the bustling city of New York and serves destinations across the globe. The carrier completely dominates traffic at the airport, maintaining a market share of over 68 per cent in 2023, way ahead of second-placed Spirit Airlines, which commanded a 5.7 per cent market share last year.

Unsurprisingly, with more than 33 million passengers annually at the airport, United Airlines’ international route network from Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is expansive and dynamic. While the airport serves as a key linchpin for the carrier’s transatlantic operations, the airline also flies to various Latin American, African, Middle Eastern, and Asian destinations.

Given its status as a major transatlantic hub, it is natural that European destinations are at the forefront of the carrier’s international operations at EWR. In total, United Airlines serves almost 20 year-round destinations in the continent, alongside more than a dozen other seasonal locations.

As one would expect, the carrier’s year-round destinations are usually high-volume traditional hub-and-spoke style destinations, such as London Heathrow Airport (LHR) or Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), as well as Frankfurt Airport (FRA), which is a hub for United Airlines’ fellow Star Alliance member airline, Lufthansa. London Heathrow was Newark’s busiest international route last year, with almost 800,000 passengers.

On these high-demand destinations, United Airlines traditionally flies its high-capacity Boeing 777-200 and 777-300ER aircraft. Some smaller year-round destinations see service with Boeing 767 and 787 jets.

The airline’s seasonal routes in Europe are a bit more fascinating to explore, as many are lower-demand destinations less traditionally served by a hub-and-spoke legacy carrier like United Airlines. Thankfully, the airline has a Swiss army knife of an aircraft on its side – the Boeing 757.

Foreign minister Antonio Tajani said on Thursday that he wanted more African students to come to Italy, in remarks that may exacerbate a coalition squabble over immigration and citizenship rights.

Tajani’s centre-right Forza Italia party has urged the government to consider granting citizenship to foreign minors who have completed most of their education in Italy.

The proposal has met with opposition from the two hard-right coalition parties, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy and Matteo Salvini’s League.

“I think the numbers of African students studying in Italy should be increased”, Tajani said at a Catholic business and politics conference in Rimini, on the Adriatic coast.

He was discussing an Italian development initiative for African countries, known as the Mattei Plan, named after the late founder of Italy’s state controlled energy company Eni.

Tajani likened the project to a modern day Marshall Plan, which saw the United States support European economies in the aftermath of World War Two.

Far fewer foreigners study in Italy than in other large European Union nations. Data from Italy’s national statistics institute ISTAT shows the country issued around 25,000 study permits in 2022, compared to almost 105,000 issued by France and about 70,000 by Germany.

ISTAT cited the relatively limited use of Italian as an international language and the difficulties of finding work in Italy among probable reasons for the dearth of foreign students.

Over 30,000 fewer Nigerians were granted visas to study in the United Kingdom in the past year as new Home Office data shows a 46 percent drop in study visa approvals from the West African country from May 2023 to June 2024.

Data released on Wednesday shows that acceptances fell to about 31,700 after an initial increase during the same period last year when 58,680 Nigerians were let into the UK to study.

Applications declined after the former UK government set new rules for visa rights including a ban on international students, except post-graduates, bringing dependants into the country.

“Policy changes are one of a number of factors that may have impacted visa application volumes,” the Home Office suggests.

Jo Grady, general secretary of the University and College Union (UCU), who spoke to i, says “The previous Government made international students and staff feel very unwelcome, and many were forced to leave family members behind to even come to study or work here.”

In the year to June 2023, the UK saw over 500,366 visa applications from international students, over 59,000 of which were from Nigeria. That number has now dropped to 443,932 as of June 2024. In this period, 432,225 sponsored study visas were granted to main applicants, 13 percent fewer than in the previous year, but 61 percent higher than in 2019, Home Office says.

This decline has cost UK universities a lot of valuable money.

£1.2bn slips away

Universities in the United Kingdom that rely on international course fees missed out on over £1.2bn in tuition fee income over the past year due to falling numbers of international students, according to analysis by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, BusinessDay reported last week.

International students who received visas in 12 months to March 2024 paid an estimated £26.9bn in fees, a decline from £28.1bn in the previous year, the research consultancy discovered.

These declining applications have led to an unstable funding crisis that could force some of the country’s higher institutions to close, cut or merge.

Some universities that cannot take the heat have already released “risk of redundancy” letters to their staff with an option to voluntarily resign or apply for a limited number of roles. In February, The University of Kent proposed shaving off 58 jobs along with nine courses to tackle financial challenges.

“It will be necessary to await the peak in student applications for the next academic year (which usually comes in August/September) before we can see the full effect of policy changes and any

Nigeria, home to the largest population in Africa, has been a big driver of a rise in international students in the UK in recent years. The youthfully populated country was the third biggest non-EU contributor of international students after India and China. The country has now dropped below Pakistan, which claimed the third spot after the recent outcomes.

The fluctuations in the Nigerian naira could also be a contributing factor to the recent economic shifts, Grady suggests. As the Naira continues to experience volatility, more Nigerians find it difficult to pay their overseas tuition fees.

“There’s been obviously clear problems that we’ve seen where the amount of students applying from any one country can be completely dependent on what the currency in their home nation is. We’ve seen this recently with Nigeria,” said Grady.

Dependant numbers down

In the year ending June 2024, there were 94,253 visas issued to student dependants, 39 percent fewer than the previous year but almost six times higher than in 2019.

“The decrease in dependants of students followed a policy change for courses starting on or after 1 January 2024, whereby only researched-based postgraduate students are now allowed to bring dependants (partners and children) to the UK.”

In the first 6 months trailing the announcement of the reform, the number of sponsored study-dependent visas granted fell by 81 percent to 11,675 compared to the same period in 2023.

By Colleen Goko

(Bloomberg) -- South Africa has gone 150 consecutive days without any planned power outages, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said Saturday. 

This milestone marks a dramatic turnaround from over a year ago when South Africa was plagued by persistent and record loadshedding that disrupted daily life, inflated food prices, and eroded investor confidence.

“The recovery plan has not only made Eskom’s power stations more reliable but has also demonstrated enhanced efficiency,” the state-owned power utility said.

Th turnaround began with the appointment of Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as the country’s first-ever Electricity Minister in March 2023, a role created in response to the escalating energy crisis. 

Alongside this, the government injected $14 billion into Eskom to stabilize the utility as well as appointing Dan Marokane as its permanent chief executive officer in December.

The rand has responded well to the development after ending 2023 as one of the few emerging market currencies with losses versus the dollar.

Its fortunes have been boosted by the improvement in electricity supply along with a coalition government that’s considered market-friendly after the May election.

The currency has gained 3.7% in the year-to-date and trades at about 17.7037 per US dollar.

By Olasunkanmi Akinlotan

Travel agents, under the umbrella of the Association of Hajj and Umura Operators of Nigeria, have called on the new Chairman of the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Professor Abdullahi Usman, to expedite action on the payment of his members’ seized money in the coffers of the commission.

The President of AHOUN, Abdullateef Ekundayo, urged the new NAHCON boss to facilitate the release of the money this week, if possible.

The association made this call at its Lagos zonal conference held in the Ojodu area of Lagos on Tuesday.

He called for the release of agents’ N25m individual funds paid as initial deposits to the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria on the order of NAHCON, before the 2024 Hajj exercise.

He explained that another over N1bn belonging to 200 agents as their initial deposits during the 2023 hajj operations had also not been refunded.

Ekundayo said, “All our members are not happy because what NAHCON told us was that a maximum of three weeks after the year’s operation, that money will be refunded to us, but it is almost three months now that our N25m has not been paid. Aside from 2023, some of our members have had their money trapped with NAHCON since 2004.

“Each time they ask us for a deposit, it is always difficult to get that money back and that has been our challenge. So I believe the new chairman will build trust between NAHCON and the operators.

“We need our money as soon as we can get it. In fact, we want it this week if possible because they will soon ask us to start bringing money for the 2025 operations again. We need our money and we need it urgently.”

The allegation led to the sack of the former NAHCON chairman, Jalal Arabi.

It will be recalled that the ousted chairman was quizzed by both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences over how the commission spent a N90b bailout fund given to the commission by President Bola Tinubu.

The EFCC, however, said it uncovered a multi-million-dollar fraud allegedly perpetrated by two top officials of the commission.

The anti-graft agency’s discoveries came from an extensive investigation into the suspicious use of funds allocated to NAHCON for Hajj operations over the years.

Speaking at the conference, the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of AHUON, Abdulfatah Abdulmajeed, said his congratulatory message to the new chairman would be necessitated by his performance in his new duty.

He charged the new chairman to immediately get to work as Nigeria was already running behind schedule in preparation for the 2025 Hajj.

He said, “We can only pray, I don’t congratulate people when they give them a new assignment. What are we congratulating them for? We can only congratulate them after they have taken the assignment and performed well in their duties, that is when we can then say congratulations. What I can only wish for him is that may Allah ease the task for him.”

By Mathieu Dion

(Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government identified 56 federal properties, representing the size of about 2,000 hockey rinks, where hundreds of new affordable homes could be built to counter the scarcity of available land worsening a housing shortage.

The properties will be featured in the new Canada Public Land Bank, the government said in a news release. Five properties in Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa, listed on the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s website, are already available for long-term leasing at a discounted value, and builders can submit their plans. The list is expected to grow regularly.

“We need to build more homes in Canada, and one of the largest costs in building is land,” Housing Minister Sean Fraser said in a statement. He’s leading a Canadian strategy attempting to build as much as 3.9 million homes by 2031. That would exceed the 3.5 million that the Smart Prosperity Institute think tank has estimated is needed.

The government said unlocking Canada’s public lands could help create as much as 250,000 new residential units. It’s setting up a C$500 million ($370 million) acquisition fund to buy land owned by other levels of government.

Fraser made the announcement on Sunday as a three-day cabinet retreat began in Halifax. Trudeau’s government has been plunging in the polls due to Canadians’ cost of living concerns, driven largely by high rents and home prices.

--With assistance from Brian Platt.

By Brian K. Sullivan

(Bloomberg) -- Chicago and the Midwest will swelter under the warmest days of summer as forecasters warn people to limit their outdoor activities.

Temperatures in the Windy City are forecast to reach 96F (36C) on Monday and 98F on Tuesday, but with humidity it will feel like triple-digit heat, the National Weather Service said. The searing weather will be short lived, with the highs dropping back into the 80s by Wednesday. Chicago has opened more than 250 cooling centers around the city.

In addition to the heat, there is an enhanced risk of severe thunderstorms, which can bring hail and tornadoes, across parts of South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa, affecting about 5.7 million people, the US Storm Prediction Center said.

People won’t be as acclimated to the heat and humidity as they would be in a normal August because there has been a lack of such events in recent weeks, the weather service said. High temperatures will pressure electric grids and bring health risks. In July 1995, more than 700 people died during a five-day heat wave across the Chicago region, according to weather service records.