The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has signed on as a
development partner of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria. This was announced at
the signing ceremony to mark the formal endorsement of the ministry and its
membership of the Alliance.
The Alliance for Youth Nigeria was launched in August 2021 with the aim to help
250,000 young Nigerians, in three years, to acquire the necessary skills to thrive
in the world of work or create their own enterprise.
In his comments on behalf of the Alliance, Mr. Shakiru Lawal, Country HR
Manager, Nestlé Nigeria PLC, said, “We are delighted to have the Federal
Ministry of Youth and Sports Development on board as a Partner of the Alliance
for Youth Nigeria. At the inauguration of the Alliance in August 2021, we set for
ourselves, the huge objective of reaching 250,000 young Nigerians with
employability and entrepreneurial skills within 3 years.
We remain committed to
working together to address the challenges of youth unemployment in the
country and as we continue to expand partnerships and collaborations, we are
assured that we are on the right track to the actualization of our objectives.”
The Honorable Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare,
speaking at the event said, “The onboarding of the Ministry as a Partner of the
Alliance is significant and timely as Government alone cannot address the huge
challenge of youth unemployment.
I commend the Alliance for choosing a different and unique path, making investments in the young Nigerians and giving
them opportunities to create wealth”.
“It is imperative that Nigerian youth equip themselves with the necessary skills
to give them an added advantage and enable them to become better positioned
for decent work”, he added.
Members of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria include Nestlé Nigeria, Jobberman
Nigeria, The Big Bottling Company Limited, the United Nations Global Compact
Network Nigeria, UConnect HR Limited and Sterling One Foundation. Partners
include the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development who has signed
on recently, Lagos State Employment Trust Fund and Activate Success
International.
The member and partner organizations of the Alliance for Youth Nigeria, invest
in joint and individual projects to give young Nigerians readiness-for-work
training, entrepreneurship training, meaningful work experience, internships, and
mentoring opportunities, thereby contributing towards the United Nations
Sustainable Development Goal 8 – to promote sustained, inclusive, and
sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work
for all by 2030.