The Federal Government has launched a national skills programme aimed at connecting 20 million young Nigerians to jobs, entrepreneurship opportunities, and relevant training by 2030. The plan also sets a 60 per cent participation target for women.
Vice President Kashim Shettima unveiled the initiative in Abuja while assuming chairmanship of the reactivated Generation Unlimited (GenU) Nigeria Board during its inaugural meeting, held on International Youth Day 2025.
Central to the plan is the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), which will link foundational and work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise support. All courses will align with the National Skills Qualification Framework to give Nigerian youth credentials that meet global standards.
Shettima described the approach as a shift from “isolated training schemes” to systemic change, warning that the country’s “youth superpower” must be refined and channelled productively.
Since 2021, GenU 9JA has already reached over 10 million youth through initiatives such as Microsoft’s Passport to Earning, Unilever’s FUCAP Campus Ambassadors, Green Rising, and the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership with the UK’s FCDO.
The new push brings together government, UNICEF, and private-sector partners including Microsoft, Airtel, IHS Towers, Unilever, CISCO, MTN, and Jobberman to widen access to employment, entrepreneurship, and digital skills nationwide. UNICEF’s Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA) has also been formally recognised as Nigeria’s national youth opportunities aggregator.
Global CEO of UNICEF Generation Unlimited, Kevin Frey, praised the initiative, saying the partnerships were “charting a new course for youth ecosystems at scale.”
