The Federal Government has launched an ambitious 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 per cent of participants.

Vice President Kashim Shettima announced the plan on Wednesday as he assumed chairmanship of the reactivated Board of Generation Unlimited (GenU) Nigeria during its inaugural meeting, which coincided with International Youth Day 2025.

In a statement on Thursday by Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications, Office of the Vice President, Stanley Nkwocha, Shettima said: “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.

“We must refine it, invest in it, and channel it towards productive destinies,” Shettima told board members, describing Nigeria’s youth as the nation’s “superpower” in a rapidly ageing world.”

He warned that the national skills ecosystem faced a “trilemma” of exclusion, disconnection from livelihoods, and inadequate infrastructure for large-scale hands-on training.

“Another isolated training scheme will not deliver us from these constraints. What we need is systemic change — a new architecture built to last,” he stressed.

At the heart of the initiative is the Digital Access and Livelihoods Initiative (DALI), which will link foundational and work-readiness training directly to guaranteed jobs or enterprise pathways.

The Vice President said all training will align with the National Skills Qualification Framework to ensure Nigerian youth possess globally competitive credentials.

“We owe young Nigerians jobs. We owe them hope. We owe them the future, not just promises, but proof that their country believes in them enough to invest in their success,” Shettima declared, urging collaboration among government, the private sector, and development partners.

Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, said the programme would focus on job creation, bridging the skills gap, and human capital development.

“Nigerian youths are not limited. We have the talent, creativity, and courage to thrive. What we need is a meaningful and enabling environment,” he said.

Special Assistant to the President on Strategy and Policy (Workforce Development), Rimamskeb Nuhu, noted that DALI was designed to address foundational skills gaps, livelihood disconnect, and infrastructure deficits, with plans to establish Renewed Hope digital hubs across the country.

Since its launch in 2021, GenU 9JA has benefited over 10 million youth through initiatives such as the FUCAP Campus Ambassadors Programme with Unilever, Microsoft’s Passport to Earning, Green Rising, and the Girls’ Education and Skills Partnership with the UK’s FCDO.

UN Resident Coordinator in Nigeria, Mohamed Fall, described Nigerian youth as “the most critical assets of the country and the continent,” while UNICEF Nigeria Country Representative and GenU 9JA co-chair, Wafaa Saeed, highlighted the formal recognition of the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA) as the national youth opportunities aggregator.

Private sector partners, including Microsoft, Airtel, HIS Towers, Unilever, CISCO, MTN, and Jobberman, are collaborating with government and UNICEF to expand opportunities in digital education, green jobs, entrepreneurship, and civic engagement.

Global CEO of UNICEF Generation Unlimited, Kevin Frey, commended Nigeria’s leadership in youth-focused innovation, saying the country’s vision and partnerships were “charting a new course for youth ecosystems at scale.” (The Nation)