The federal government has inaugurated a Technical Working Group (TWG) to help tackle issues of youth unemployment and skill development in the country.
Speaking during the inauguration, yesterday in Abuja, the Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, said the committee is a collaborative project of the ministry and the World Bank to promote socio-economic development initiatives.
Agba stated that addressing youth unemployment is a major concern to the current administration, the reason for several interventions in recent years with a number of proactive mechanisms put in place to reduce the rate in the country.
The minister pointed out that the present administration is “committed to providing an enabling environment for the creation of 21 million full-time jobs and lifting 35 million people out of poverty by the year 2025 as encapsulated in the NDP: 2021-2025”.
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He said the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the Committee are: “Coordinate analysis, policy dialogue, and strategic planning for youth employment and skill development (YESD) in Nigeria: Relate with development partners, private sectors and civil society organisations to support government programmes and policies on YESD at both the federal and state levels in Nigeria: Produce periodic reports on multi-sectoral interventions on YESD programmes in Nigeria, and undertake strategic actions as may be mandated by the Hon. Minister of State, Budget and National Planning among others.”
Agba who assured the participants of the government’s commitment to creating jobs for the teeming youths said urgent steps needed to be taken to constitute a technical working committee that will serve as a think tank for solving and addressing youth employment in the country.
Membership of the TWG is drawn from the ministries of Labour and Employment, Education, Women Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Development, Trade and Industry, Youth and Sports Development, and Communication and Digital Economy.
Others are Agencies and Extra-Ministerial Departments, including, Small Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Elumelu Foundation, Dangote Foundation, and Mastercard Foundation.
