Job Creation: World Bank Supports FG with N120m
From Kunle Aderinokun in Abuja
The Federal Government has signed a N120 million agreement (an equivalent of $900,000 ) with the World Bank for the preparation of the Nigeria Urban Youth Employment and Empowerment Project (NUYEEP). The grant is expected to be provided by the Japanese government and administered by the Bretton Woods institution.
Finance Minister, Dr. (Mrs.) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, signed for Federal Government while the Acting Country Director, Victoria Kwakwa, signed on behalf of the World Bank.
Speaking weekend at the signing ceremony, Okonjo-Iweala said the proposed NUYEEP is "in line with the pillars of the National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy (NEEDS) and should help in solving some of the unemployment problems among Nigeria's teaming youth."
Six states including Anambra, Bauchi, Kaduna, Lagos, Plateau and Rivers have so far been selected to participate in the project which would be ready for implementation in 2005.
The Youth Employment Project, which is to be prepared with the Japanese grant would have three important components:
Support a system-wide coordinated inter-ministerial dialogue at the federal and state levels on youth, labour and education policy reforms critical for the success of the long-term resolution of the youth unemployment challenges;
Employment generation, skills acquisition and social capital enhancement through supporting skills development and job creation for the very poor of the unemployed youths most of who dropped out of the school system too early to master any trade/skills and who are willing to engage in mass employment efforts in areas likely to include public services provision and maintenance and;
Empowerment of youths who have completed tertiary and or secondary education to organize themselves, undertake entrepreneurial training likely to involve much of agro-processing industrial endeavors, form job-creation cooperatives to enable youths to better market their skills.
NUYEEP Task Team Leader, Kwabena Amakwah-Ayeh pointed out that "involvement of the Nigerian youth in the project decision-making processes has been very instrumental in designing components that directly seek to address the issues of the youths in ways they deem fit and appropriate."
It is estimated that out of the nation's total population of 120 million, approximately 450,000 students attend university; 190,000 go on to polytechnics and 250,000 go through teachers training, nursing schools and other post-secondary institutions. Also, there are about 19 million primary school children (of ages 6 to 11) and about 4.9 million secondary school students (ages 12 to 17). This, therefore, leaves a large number of young people without secondary or tertiary education who join the labor market with little or no relevant skills for jobs.
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