The Federal Government through the ministry of youth and sports development, partnering with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) have started a campaign towards boosting youth employment in Nigeria.
The campaign which is being managed by the Nigeria Youth SDGs Network, a coalition of youth-led civil society organisations will help develop a roadmap that will ensure that young Nigerians are adequately prepared to get and create jobs.
Minister of youth and sports development, Sunday Dare, in a statement on Tuesday, the campaign is part of the implementation of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP), a four-year detailed plan to address the youth employment challenge in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
According to him, the NIYEAP has been developed to complement and operate in the context of existing policies, frameworks, and strategies such as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan; the National Youth Policy, the National Employment Policy, the United Nations Development Partnership Framework, and the Call for Action.
He noted that the ministry, however, commenced activities for the review of the NIYEAP in 2018, in collaboration with the United Nations, which also launched the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth- a multi-stakeholder partnership to advance the implementation of youth employment-related targets of the 2030 agenda.
With a focus on Employment Creation, Employability, Equality, and rights as well as Entrepreneurship), the priority themes of NIYEAP the 4Es, are further delineated into strategic lines of action listed under each theme, with emphasis on sectors that have high job creation potentials, such as digital economy, rural economy, green economy and renewable energy sector, manufacturing, tourism, construction, and service.
