Call For Applications: PIND Foundation Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) Program

The Niger Delta Youth Employment Pathways project (NDYEP), implemented by the PIND Foundation in the Niger Delta, is an innovative response to the challenge of youth employment in the region. The worsening youth unemployment scenario in the Niger Delta, specifically, provided the impetus for establishing the NDYEP project in the last quarter of 2017 as a pilot program implemented by PIND. It received funding support from the Ford Foundation and began with an initial focus on three states: Rivers, Akwa Ibom, and Abia.

The NDYEP program aims to contribute to addressing the youth unemployment challenge by developing models of youth job readiness and workforce development. These models offer young people the opportunity to secure sustainable jobs or develop enterprises through quality training that equips them with market-relevant skills. The pilot phase, implemented over 2 years, trained over 5,000 youth in target sectors such as Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Renewable Energy (Solar Tech), building construction, and the finished leather sector. It also supported their transition into waged employment or self-employment/entrepreneurship.

In 2020, PIND decided to expand the NDYEP program to another state, Delta State, based on the positive results of the pilot phase. Following extensive consultations with the Delta State government, a youth labor market assessment was conducted in that State. The project is in its second year of implementation in Delta State, with 1,236 youth trained and successfully linked to work.

Consistent with NDYEP’s implementation framework and to further widen its outreach, PIND is extending the implementation of the Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) program to Ondo State.

Application

This application form is ONLY for unemployed youths between the ages of 16 – 30 years who are residents of Ondo State and would like to participate in technical/vocational skills training, job linkage, or enterprise development under the Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) Project.

 Target group:

• The primary focus is on young school leavers between ages 16 and 30, including the vulnerable and disadvantaged (rural, women, and people with disabilities or from coastal communities).
• Existing (skills upgrade) and new youth entrants in the selected sector.
• Semi-skilled workers for upskilling within the selected sectors and trades.
• Unemployed/underemployed youth interested in pursuing careers in the selected sector and trades.

Some of the identified skill areas for vocational training and enterprise development or job linkage are shown in the table below: