The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has signed on as a development partner of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria. This was announced at the signing ceremony to mark the formal endorsement of the ministry and its membership of the Alliance.
The Alliance for Youth Nigeria was launched in August 2021 with the aim to help 250,000 young Nigerians, in three years, to acquire the necessary skills to thrive in the world of work or create their own enterprise.
In his comments on behalf of the Alliance, Mr. Shakiru Lawal, Country HR Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, said, “We are delighted to have the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development on board as a Partner of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria. At the inauguration of the Alliance in August 2021, we set for ourselves, the huge objective of reaching 250,000 young Nigerians with employability and entrepreneurial skills within three years.
“We remain committed to working together to address the challenges of youth unemployment in the country and as we continue to expand partnerships and collaborations, we are assured that we are on the right track to the actualisation of our objectives.”
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, speaking at the event, said, “The onboarding of the Ministry as a Partner of the Alliance is significant and timely as Government alone cannot address the huge challenge of youth unemployment. I commend the Alliance for choosing a different and unique path, making investments in the young Nigerians and giving them opportunities to create wealth”.
“It is imperative that Nigerian youth equip themselves with the necessary skills to give them an added advantage and enable them to become better positioned for decent work,” he added.
Members of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria include Nestlé Nigeria, Jobberman Nigeria, The Big Bottling Company Limited, the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, UConnect HR Limited and Sterling One Foundation. Partners include the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development who has signed on recently, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and Activate Success International.
The member and partner organisations of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria invest in joint and individual projects to give young Nigerians readiness-for-work training, entrepreneurship training, meaningful work experience, internships, and mentoring opportunities, thereby 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.
