More than 200,000 unemployed Nigerians have registered for the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) third phase of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI III), seeking access to just 26,961 available opportunities.

The turnout, which translates to more than seven applicants competing for every available slot, was recorded within the registration window for the programme, underscoring the intense pressure on the labour market and the growing demand for employment and skills opportunities among Nigerians.

The Director of Planning, Research and Statistics (DPRS) at the NDE, Edmund Onwuliri, confirmed the figure in a telephone interview with the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday, saying the agency recorded more than 200,000 registrations during the exercise.

The development comes barely weeks after the NDE announced plans to expand RHEI into a more digitally driven, market-oriented programme designed to equip unemployed Nigerians with skills capable of translating into self-employment and sustainable livelihoods.

The third phase is targeting 26,961 unemployed Nigerians nationwide, with the programme introducing a number of changes from previous editions, including a fully digital registration and programme management system, demand-driven skills acquisition, grassroots-based beneficiary selection and an extension of the training period to six months.

The upgraded registration system is also designed to improve transparency and accountability in the selection process, while applicants who participated in earlier phases but were not selected are expected to have another opportunity to apply through the new platform.

The NDE said the system integrates applicants’ National Identification Numbers (NINs) and other verification mechanisms to strengthen the integrity of the process. It has also been configured to direct persons with disabilities to skills acquisition programmes tailored to their needs.

The overwhelming number of applications is particularly significant against the background of the relatively limited number of spaces available in the third phase.

With over 200,000 Nigerians seeking the 26,961 slots, the latest registration exercise has exposed the scale of the employment challenge confronting the country, even as government continues to roll out skills acquisition, entrepreneurship and job-creation interventions.

Under RHEI III, beneficiaries are expected to receive training in areas linked to market demand, while the programme is also designed to support participants beyond classroom instruction.

The NDE has announced plans to provide resettlement support to 3,405 outstanding beneficiaries, giving them starter packs and tools to establish enterprises after completing their training.

Another major component of the new phase is an NDE partnership under which 10,000 beneficiaries are expected to receive free ICT training, while trainees will benefit from standardised curricula and certification by the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).

The agency has also introduced more market-oriented training packages across its various departments, covering vocational, agricultural, entrepreneurial, technical and digital skills.

Occupational Safety and Health standards are also expected to be integrated into the training programmes to ensure that beneficiaries acquire not only employable skills but also knowledge of safe working practices.

The latest development builds on the earlier phases of RHEI, which the NDE has been implementing as part of the Federal Government’s response to unemployment and the need to equip Nigerians with practical skills.

The NDE previously disclosed that it had concluded training for 32,886 and 33,692 beneficiaries under the first and second phases respectively, while the third phase is expected to widen access to skills and enterprise development opportunities.

The agency has also indicated that the third phase will run into 2027, with implementation expected to focus increasingly on linking skills acquisition with actual economic opportunities rather than training beneficiaries without post-training support.

Earlier, Onwuliri said the NDE was committed to strengthening programme delivery by learning from the successes and shortcomings of previous phases while insisting on transparency, accountability and efficiency throughout implementation.

The latest surge in applications, however, suggests that the demand for government-backed employment and livelihood opportunities is significantly outstripping the capacity of existing intervention programmes.

For the NDE, the challenge will now be to ensure that the selection of the 26,961 beneficiaries is transparent, credible and insulated from manipulation, while ensuring that those who are not selected are not left without alternative pathways into employment or skills development.

The agency’s official RHEI III platform describes the initiative as a job-creation programme intended to bridge the gap between skills acquisition and gainful employment, with emphasis on sustainable livelihoods.

With more than 200,000 Nigerians already expressing interest in the latest phase, the registration figures have provided a fresh indication of the enormous appetite for jobs, skills and economic opportunities across the country and the scale of the task facing government in translating employment interventions into opportunities large enough to meet the demand. (Nigerian Tribune)