The federal government has launched a new national skills programme to connect 20 million young Nigerians to jobs, training, and entrepreneurship opportunities by 2030, with women expected to make up at least 60 percent of beneficiaries.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima announced the initiative on Wednesday as he assumed chairmanship of the reactivated board of Generation Unlimited (GenU) Nigeria during its inaugural meeting in Abuja.
The meeting coincided with the 2025 International Youth Day, themed “Youth Innovation for a Sustainable Future.”
Shettima described Nigeria’s youthful population as the country’s “superpower” in a rapidly ageing world, warning against letting the potential go untapped.
“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,” he said.
At the core of the plan is the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), a demand-driven national talent pipeline that will connect foundational and work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise pathways.
The vice-president said all training under DALI will align with the National Skills Qualification Framework to ensure that “our young people possess not only the skills to work but the credentials to compete globally.”
Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, said the government’s vision is to create jobs, bridge the skills gap, and empower young Nigerians through human capital development “not just token gestures.”
Special assistant to the president on strategy and policy (workforce development), Rimamskeb Nuhu, said DALI will target three key challenges: a foundational skills gap, livelihood disconnect, and infrastructure deficit.
Since its launch in 2021, GenU Nigeria has reached more than 10 million youths through projects such as the FUCAP Campus Ambassadors Programme, Passport to Earning with Microsoft, Green Rising, and the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership.
UN Resident Coordinator Mohamed Fall urged stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to Nigerian youths, describing them as “the most critical assets of the country and the continent.”
Private sector partners in GenU include Microsoft, Airtel, IHS Towers, Unilever, CISCO, MTN, and Jobberman.