In a bid to tackle youth unemployment and empower Nigerian youths, the World Bank has announced a $10 million investment in skills development initiatives.
This revelation came during the opening of a two-day Innovation Grant Facilities (IGF) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/Contract Signing and Implementation Workshop in Abuja on Monday.
Mistura Rufai, the Bank’s education specialist, highlighted the importance of empowering Nigerian youths to bolster the country’s economic prospects.
She emphasized that the initiative, facilitated by the Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) Project of the Federal Ministry of Education, aims to empower over 50,000 youths nationwide through 78 grantees.
Rufai stated, “This facility was designed to support complementing agencies that are promoting innovations in the training of digital skills. It aims at supporting critical intervention projects in the skills development ecosystem such that we develop digital skills across the country.
The training is expected to have beginners, intermediate to advanced level. As we speak at the national level, we have about 10,000 youths currently being trained.”
Blessing Ogwu, the national project coordinator for IDEAS, underscored the program’s mission to provide every Nigerian child with opportunities for learning and skill acquisition.
She highlighted the imperative of addressing the high number of out-of-school children, aiming to integrate them back into productive activities.
Ogwu urged grantees to remain dedicated to the initiative, emphasizing its role in reducing youth unemployment.
She emphasized, “The essence of this project is focusing on skill acquisition to reduce unemployment in Nigeria. We don’t need anyone to tell us that we have so many youths who are unemployed. Most of our youths are unemployed and the only way is for the youth to acquire our skills.”
Prof. Ndem Ayara, the IGF Consultant, elaborated on the project’s implementation strategy, noting its Public/Private Partnership (PPP) framework. Ayara explained, “In the partnership, the public sector will support the consortium to implement the project up to 80 percent, and the private sector partner will provide 20 percent. Of the 20 percent by the private sector, they will contribute 10 percent in kind and the other 10 percent in cash. It is the cash component of the private sector contribution that is expected to be the counterpart funding by the private sector.”
The workshop marked a significant step towards enhancing Nigeria’s skills development landscape, aiming to equip youths with essential digital competencies and reduce unemployment across the country.