The Minister of Youth Development, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, has reaffirmed the Nigerian Government’s commitment to empower more youths with essential skills to drive national growth.
The Minister stated this while receiving stakeholders from various organizations at a youth skills stakeholder consultative dialogue in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
‘As many of you are aware, Nigeria is home to a democracy that represents more than 60 percent of our population. This is not just a statistic, but a powerful potential that if properly harnessed, can transform our economy and elevate our standing on the global stage. Despite the significant challenges we face, we must focus on this potential to realize a brighter future for our nation.
‘Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate currently stands at approximately 42.5 percent, a staggering figure that underscores the urgent need for adequate skills development and employment programmes. This is not a problem we can afford to ignore. The urgency should spur us into immediate and co
mprehensive action to address this pressing issue’, Jamila added.
She reiterated that the Federal Ministry of Youth Development is taking the lead in tackling youth unemployment and bridging the skills gap through groundbreaking flagship initiatives. She explained that with the restructured Nigerian Youth Investment Fund (NYIF), the Presidential Initiative on Youth Cluster (PIYEC), and the National Youth Skills Program, the government is directly addressing the challenges young Nigerians are facing, equipping them with the skills, resources, and opportunities needed to excel in a rapidly evolving global economy and drive sustainable national progress.
She further disclosed that these programmes provide accessible finance, training, mentorship, and enterprise development opportunities across vital economic sectors, paving the way for financial empowerment. Specifically, the National Youth Skills Program equips Nigerian youth with cutting-edge, globally competitive skills, ensuring they are prepared to thrive
in today’s interconnected marketplace.
‘We aim to foster stronger interagency collaboration and reinforce partnership among government bodies, donors, and the private sector by aligning our roles and responsibilities, leveraging our strengths, and pool resources to create a unified and impactful approach to youth skills development’, the Minister added.
According to the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya, the National Youth Skills Program (NYSP) is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth Development that aimed at addressing the critical skills gap among Nigerian Youth while equipping them to meet the demands of both national and global labour markets which is designed to strategically align with Nigeria’s broader development goals, particularly the eight-point agenda of President Bola Tinubu to reduce unemployment and underemployment in order to foster economic growth through entrepreneurship.
The Director of Enterprise Development and Promotion of the Ministry Prince Olugbenga Mo
moh thanked the Stakeholders for attending the meeting, despite the short notice. This, he said is an indication that the future of Nigerian youth is bright.
He also highlighted some of the skills areas in which the Ministry has consistently built the capacity of unemployed youth to include: vocational skills, business development training (entrepreneurship) programmes and other areas like borehole drilling and plumbing services, electrical, carpentry and interior decoration, tilling, volcanizing, mechanic, creative industry.
Source: Voice of Nigeria