The Federal Government has unveiled an ambitious national skills initiative aimed at bridging Nigeria’s employment gap by connecting 20 million young people to jobs, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities by 2030, with a special focus on ensuring at least 60 per cent of beneficiaries are women. Vice President Kashim Shettima, who now chairs the reactivated Board of Generation Unlimited (GenU) Nigeria, announced the plan during the inaugural board meeting held on International Youth Day 2025, themed “Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”
Shettima described Nigeria’s youthful population as a strategic advantage in a rapidly ageing world, warning that the nation’s skills ecosystem faces a “trilemma” of exclusion, training disconnected from livelihoods, and inadequate infrastructure for hands-on learning. He stressed that the centrepiece of the drive — the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI) — will serve as a demand-driven talent pipeline, linking work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise opportunities. All training will align with the National Skills Qualification Framework to ensure globally competitive credentials.
The Vice President called for unified action from government, the private sector, and development partners, pledging that this initiative would replace fragmented efforts with a coordinated front to unlock the creative and entrepreneurial potential of Nigeria’s youth. UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative and GenU co-chair, Wafaa Saeed, commended the recognition of the Youth Agency Marketplace as a national one-stop digital platform for skilling, innovation, and economic pathways, affirming that young Nigerians must be seen as drivers of change rather than mere beneficiaries.
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, reiterated the administration’s vision to create jobs, close the skills gap, and drive human capital development, while Presidential aide Rimamskeb Nuhu outlined DALI’s focus on equipping underserved communities with foundational digital skills and establishing Renewed Hope digital hubs nationwide. The programme builds on the success of earlier flagship initiatives such as the FUCAP Campus Ambassadors Programme, Microsoft’s Passport to Earning, Green Rising, and the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership, which have already impacted over 10 million youths in four years.
The UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, urged all stakeholders to remain committed to empowering the country’s youth, describing them as the nation’s most critical assets. “Every day, Nigerian youths prove their potential,” he said. “Through collective effort and platforms like GenU 9JA, we can deliver transformation at scale and secure a sustainable future for the next generation.”
