Job Creation: FG Launches Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan

The Federal Government has announced the launch of a plan to tackle Nigeria’s youth unemployment crises, called the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP 2021-2024).

This was disclosed by Nigeria’s Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare in a statement on Tuesday. The Minister added that the launch of NIYEAP was part of President’s Buhari’s poverty and unemployment reduction objectives.

What the Minister said
”The plan is this Administration’s effort to continue to facilitate an enabling environment that will create about 3.7 million jobs annually, so as to achieve national development goals, particularly, sustainable economic growth in the country.

The youth must and should be regarded as a viable investment that can yield positive benefits for all spheres of our socio-economic progress, better than a group targeted for periodic empowerment interventions,” Dare said.

The Minister added that it is important to state the economic and social consequences of youth unemployment transcends the youth group. It has also resulted in missed economic opportunities for the nation.

Youth inclusion is about skilled human capital, social and economic stability, a vibrant and healthy labour force, which will also engender political stability and national growth and development,” he said.

The Minister disclosed that the plan will emphasise the 4Es, which are: Employability, Entrepreneurship Development, Employment Creation, and Equality and rights, with detailed actions required in support of employment creation for youths in critical economic and social sectors, including the financing, implementation, monitoring and evaluation frameworks.

”Sectors such as Digital Economy, Rural Economy, Green Economy and Renewable energy sector, Manufacturing, Tourism, Construction and Services. The Plan will also ensure the inclusion of partners across sectors and will create a robust partnership base through which my Ministry will ensure wider reach of youth employment programmes across the country.

To ensure inclusion from the grassroots, the Ministry of Youth and Sport will also be convening zonal inception workshops on the NIYEAP. Stakeholders from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory will be included in the implementation of the plan,” he said.

In case you missed it
Recently, Konga, Nigeria’s leading composite e-commerce giant, signed a landmark partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, aimed at generating creative employment for millions of Nigerian youths.

The initiative unveiled under Konga Jobs (KJ), a youth empowerment and job creation scheme of the Konga Group will see Konga deploy its assets and resources while also placing its growing list of thriving subsidiaries across multiple verticals at the disposal of Nigerian youths who are desirous of an opportunity to earn a meaningful living and create wealth. It is targeted at the employed, unemployed and under-employed Nigerian youths across board.

The Ministry of Youths and Sports revealed that the Federal Government announced that 47,000 Nigerian youths have applied for its Work Experience Programme (WEP) so far. The WEP project is one of the series of economic sustainability projects being implemented by the Federal Government to bridge the gap in practical work skills against unemployment