The Federal Government has announced a new National Skills Programme which is expected to connect “20 million” young Nigerians to “jobs, training and entrepreneurship opportunities” by 2030.
The government said, it is targeting 60% of beneficiaries of the programme to be women.
This is coming as Kashim Shettima, Vice President, assumes position as Chairman of reactivated Board of Generation Unlimited Nigeria.
Making his speech on Wednesday, Shettima described Nigeria’s juvenile population as the country’s “superpower and comparative advantage” in fastly ageing world.
According to the VP’s official X account: “The Federal Government has announced a new national skills programme aimed at connecting 20 million young Nigerians to jobs, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities by 2030, with at least 60 per cent of beneficiaries expected to be women.
“This is just as Vice President, @KashimSM, has assumed the chairmanship position of the reactivated Board of Generation Unlimited (@GenUnlimited_) Nigeria, with a mandate to connect 20 million young Nigerians to employment opportunities by 2030.
“Speaking on Wednesday during the inaugural board meeting of Generation Unlimited Nigeria (@genunlimitedng), the Vice President described Nigeria’s youthful population as the nation’s superpower and comparative advantage in a rapidly ageing world.
“The #GenU board meeting coincided with International #YouthDay 2025, themed “Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”
““With over 60 per cent of our population below the age of 25, we cannot afford to squander this asset. An advantage unrealised is merely potential wasted. We must refine it, we must invest in it, and we must channel it towards productive destinies,” @KashimSM said.”
The VP said, Nigeria’s national skills ecosystem kicked off with so many young Nigerians not included from the get-go, adding, we need a “systemic change”.
Shettima continued: “The Vice President warned that Nigeria’s “national skills ecosystem faces a trilemma,” with too many young people excluded from the start, training disconnected from livelihoods, and inadequate infrastructure for large-scale hands-on learning.
““Another isolated training scheme will not deliver us from these constraints. What we need is systemic change – a new architecture built to last,” he added.”
