16,000 Young People Upskilled By Alliance For Youth Nigeria

Mustapha Fasasi, a 34year old indigene of Oyo State, South-West Nigeria, is excited about his recently acquired skill of solar panel installation for homes and small businesses.

With prior interest in solar and renewable energy, he signed up for the vocational skills training hosted by the Alliance for Youth Nigeria, as soon as he heard about the training through a radio program.

“The training was an extremely rewarding experience for me as I have been equipped with the handson skills and knowledge required to immediately commence solar panel installations and start earning income to support myself and my family.

16,000 Young People Upskilled By Alliance For Youth Nigeria

I look forward to further personal development till I become an expert in this sector”, he said.

Mustapha is one of over 500 young people, who are beneficiaries of the vocational skills training held in Ibadan and Kano.

Despite young people being a tremendous resource for sustainable development, Nigeria’s youth unemployment rate stands at 53.7% according to the National Bureau of Statistics. There is therefore a pressing need for innovative and hands-on interventions, including entrepreneurship education, in reversing this trend.

The Alliance for Youth Nigeria is addressing this need, with the recent conclusion of a vocational skills training program, delivered in collaboration with Whitefield Foundation.

The training which enables young people to acquire knowledge, skills, and confidence for self-sustainability, covered four skillsets – Solar panel installation, Graphics Design and Social Media Management, Beauty Care (make-up, aromatherapy, and massage), and Web Development and Digital Marketing.
The selected skill sets were identified as quick-to-market and high-impact economic areas with immediate opportunities for earning a decent income and improving livelihood.

Launched in August 2021, the Alliance is a business-driven movement of organizations passionate about working together to help young people around the country acquire the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work or create their own enterprises.

Members of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria include Nestlé Nigeria, Jobberman Nigeria, Big Bottling Company, the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, and U-Connect HR Limited with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and Activate Success International as partner organizations.

The member and partner organizations are committed to equipping young Nigerians with employability and entrepreneurial skills to enable them secure gainful employment or set up businesses of their own.

They have also positioned themselves to invest in joint and individual projects to give young Nigerians meaningful work experience, internships, readiness-for-work training, and mentoring opportunities and are committed to contributing towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8 – to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all by 2030 and Goal 17, Partnerships for the Goals.

BY IYABO AINA

Publisher Of News Rain Nigeria