….targets 60% women participation
By Kunle Sanni
The federal government has launched a new national skills programme designed to connect 20 million young Nigerians to jobs, training, and entrepreneurship by 2030 — with at least 60 per cent of beneficiaries expected to be women.
The initiative was announced in Abuja on Wednesday during the inaugural meeting of the reactivated Generation Unlimited (GenU) Nigeria Board, chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima. The event coincided with this year’s International Youth Day, themed “Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”
Shettima described Nigeria’s young population as the country’s “greatest asset” but warned of structural weaknesses in the national skills ecosystem, including limited access to training, poor linkages to jobs, and insufficient infrastructure.
“With over 60 per cent of our population below 25, we cannot afford to squander this advantage. What we need is systemic change — a new architecture built to last,” he said.
At the heart of the plan is the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), a demand-driven talent pipeline that will connect foundational and work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise opportunities. All training will align with the National Skills Qualification Framework to ensure global competitiveness, Shettima added.
The Vice President urged government agencies, private sector leaders, and development partners to work under a single platform to attract investment and replace fragmented efforts with coordinated action.
“We owe young Nigerians jobs. We owe them hope. We owe them proof that their country believes in them enough to invest in their success,” Shettima said.
Youth Development Minister Comrade Ayodele Olawande echoed this vision, stressing that the programme would bridge the skills gap and empower young people through “human capital development, not token gestures.”
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