World Bank, FG Allocate $10 Million To Address Youth Unemployment

The World Bank has announced a $10 million investment in skills development aimed at reducing youth unemployment in Nigeria.

This initiative was disclosed on Monday, July 15, by Mistura Rufai, the Bank’s education specialist, during the commencement of a two-day Innovation Grant Facilities (IGF) Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)/Contract Signing and Implementation Workshop held in Abuja.

The workshop was organized by the Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills (IDEAS) Project under the Federal Ministry of Education.

Rufai emphasized the need for empowering and training Nigerian youths to boost the country’s economic prospects. The current scheme aims to empower over 50,000 youths across Nigeria, with approximately 78 grantees involved in the initiative.

Rufai stated, “This facility was designed to support agencies that promote innovations in digital skills training. It aims to support critical intervention projects within the skills development ecosystem, ensuring the proliferation of digital skills across the nation.

“Currently, about 10,000 youths are undergoing training at various levels from beginner to advanced. Within a year, we anticipate training over 50,000 grantees.”

IDEAS National Project Coordinator, Blessing Ogwu, highlighted the program’s goal of providing every Nigerian child with the opportunity to learn and acquire essential skills.

She underscored the urgent need to address the rising number of out-of-school children in the country and urged grantees to remain committed to the initiative to help reduce youth unemployment.

Ogwu remarked, “The essence of this project is to focus on skill acquisition to mitigate unemployment in Nigeria. We have a significant number of unemployed youths, and equipping them with skills is the solution.”

IGF Consultant, Prof. Ndem Ayara, explained that the project, set to be implemented within one year, operates on a Public/Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Ayara detailed, “In this partnership, the public sector will support the consortium in implementing the project up to 80%, while the private sector will contribute 20%. Of the 20%, the private sector will provide 10% in kind and 10% in cash, serving as the counterpart funding for the project.”