The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, in partnership with the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), has commenced a nationwide campaign to comprehend the aspirations of young Nigerians on decent work.
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 towards designing effective policy and programmes that will ensure that young Nigerians are adequately prepared to get and create jobs.
The nationwide campaign commenced on July 21, 2020, with a survey which can be accessed through virtual platforms.
Through the survey, the ministry, UNDESA and ILO are gathering the views of Nigerian youth on employment prospects and needs of youth that will inform policy direction and ensure the right approaches are pursued to implement the NIYEAP.
The campaign is part of the implementation of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP), a four-year blueprint aimed at addressing the youth employment challenge in Nigeria in a comprehensive and coordinated manner.
The NIYEAP, it was gathered, 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.
The ministry is said to have 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 in the year 2016. The NIYEAP serves as a commitment of the Nigerian government under the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth.
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 potential, such as Digital Economy, Rural Economy, Green Economy and Renewable Energy, Manufacturing, Tourism, Construction and Service.
The Action Plan has been described as a fundamental framework to address youth employment and it emphasises finding solutions with and for young people who are seeking decent and productive jobs.
The survey is said to have already been filled by over 150,000 young Nigerians from the six geopolitical zones of the country. Details of the survey can be found here – www.youthandsport.gov.ng and www.decentwork.ng.
