Five companies have joined forces under the Global Alliance for Youth to tackle youth unemployment in Nigeria while marking the International Youth Day (IYD).
High youth unemployment presents serious global social and economic challenges, including increased poverty and insecurity and Nigeria has much of these.
Nigeria has one of the highest youth populations in the world with 62 percent of its population below the age of 25. According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, as of the second quarter of 2020, over 13.9 million young Nigerians were unemployed. Millions are also underemployed or in uncertain jobs.
Indeed, these 13.9 million unemployed would have experienced various degrees of the pain and disrespect that often closely accompany the absence of financial power in many Nigerian settings.
But hope could be near for Nigeria’s unemployed youths as the world marks the 2021 IYD.
The Global Alliance for Youth Nigeria is a business-driven movement of like-minded organizations passionate about working together to help young people around the country get the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work, today and tomorrow.
Members of the Alliance are Nestlé Nigeria, Jobberman Nigeria, Sterling One Foundation, Big Bottling Company and the United Nations Global Compact.
They have positioned themselves to invest in various joint and individual initiatives to give young Nigerians meaningful work experiences, internships, readiness-for-work training, and mentoring opportunities in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal eight, which is to promote sustained, inclusive, and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all by 2030.
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At a press conference held in Lagos to announce the launch, BusinessDay learnt that the Alliance plans to reach more than 250,000 young Nigerians with employability and entrepreneurial skills to enable them get gainful employment or set up businesses of their own within the next three years.
It noted at the gathering, that all youths of various strata — including those living with disabilities — would be covered in their initiatives and programmes. Other organisations are also welcome to join this force against unemployment, it was noted.
In a statement after the event, Wassim Elhusseini, managing director/CEO, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, said the youth are confronted with multiple challenges, but the critical challenge is that of a lack of opportunities.
He added that they have great potential, and those who have been privileged to find the right opportunities have thrived in remarkable ways.
According to him, the alliance seeks to create opportunities for them to attain their highest potential as productive and contributory members of society.
“We are confident in the potential impact of the alliance to drive change at scale, leveraging the resources, expertise and network of member companies,” he said.
Rolake Rosiji, CEO of Jobberman Nigeria, believes that through the Alliance, youths will gain access to high-quality trainings, and will be able to gain the critical skills needed to swiftly enter the workforce, as well as grow in their respective fields.
While Norena Francis, HR manager of The Big Bottling Company, argued that youths are the future of the world and as such, deliberate actions need to happen to the benefit all of mankind; Naomi Nwokolo, executive director, UN Global Compact Network Nigeria said, it is no longer fashionable to ignore the youth.
Nwokolo emphasised that it was time for all stakeholders —government, private sector and civil societies —to pivot towards harnessing the powers and potentials of the youth demographic.
She said participation of the UN Global Compact Network Nigeria as member of alliance, is a clear statement of their intent to engage with the private sector to further entrench the corporate sustainability agenda particularly in the areas of women and youth inclusion, sustainable innovation, decent work and economic growth.
Also speaking about the alliance, Olapeju Ibekwe, CEO, Sterling One Foundation, said the foundation has prioritised partnerships for the achievement of the SDGs across its focus sectors, as they believe effective collaboration is the only sustainable strategy for holistic social impact.
“As we mark the International Youth Day,” she said, “[we] look forward to the various innovative projects that will be executed for young people across the country.”
The Global Alliance for Youth Nigeria member companies are committed to working in collaboration with policymakers, government, and other stakeholders to develop solutions to address youth unemployment and foster job employability and job creation in the coming years.
Together, the companies intend to drive concrete actions, providing solutions for measurable change. Their focus is on youths between age 16 to 35 years and the execution of plans will begin in the last quarter of 2021.
