For thousands of young Nigerians shut out of formal employment, the route from unemployment to self reliance may not begin with another certificate, but with a practical skill, the tools to practise it and access to a market where that skill can generate income.

This is the thinking behind the Federal Government’s decision to take its National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS) beyond Abuja to Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi states, where 1,200 young Nigerians are expected to receive practical training in artificial intelligence and graphics design, solar energy installation, fashion, makeup and agriculture.

The intervention comes against the backdrop of a Nigerian labour market where the headline unemployment figure tells only part of the story. The latest official Nigeria Labour Force Survey available from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) puts unemployment at 4.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2024, down from 5.3 per cent in the first quarter, while youth unemployment among people aged 15 to 24 stood at 6.5 per cent. More significantly, informal employment accounted for 93 per cent of employment, highlighting the reality that having a job does not necessarily translate into having a sustainable livelihood.

For millions of Nigerians, the challenge is therefore not simply finding work, but finding productive work capable of providing a reliable income and a pathway out of poverty.

It is against this background that the Federal Government is betting on practical skills as part of its strategy to tackle poverty and youth unemployment, with the programme being implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, OSSAP TVEE.

The initiative is part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and the Federal Government’s ambition to lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years. At its heart is the belief that young Nigerians should not be viewed merely as beneficiaries of government intervention or as a burden on an economy struggling to create enough formal jobs, but as potential entrepreneurs, innovators, employees and wealth creators.

For the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical Vocation and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, that belief is central to the programme. “Nigerian youths are not the problem; they are the solution,” she said, making the case for a strategy that seeks to equip young people with the capacity to participate actively in the economy rather than wait indefinitely for government or private employers to create jobs for them.

The journey began with a pilot programme in Abuja, launched on June 30, 2025, where participants underwent intensive training in cybersecurity, web development and solar energy installation. The response was significant, with more than 7,000 applications reportedly received, far exceeding the number of available places and providing a clear indication of the appetite among young Nigerians for opportunities that can translate into employment, entrepreneurship and income.

Arogundade described the Abuja pilot as a success, recalling how participants who initially approached the programme with uncertainty gradually acquired practical, marketable skills. Some were able to build their first websites while learning the fundamentals of digital security and web development, demonstrating, according to the programme managers, how targeted training can help young people move from simply seeking employment to developing the capacity to create economic value.

The expansion to Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi is the next stage of that experiment, with each state allocated 200 beneficiaries for intensive training lasting between 10 days and two weeks. Rather than imposing a uniform curriculum across the three states, the programme has been designed around local economic opportunities, market demand and the interests of beneficiaries, reflecting the argument that skills training is more likely to produce results when it is connected to the realities of the communities where trainees live and work.

In Oyo State, training is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2026, and will run for two weeks from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, with participants trained in graphics and artificial intelligence design, makeup and fashion designing. The digital component is aimed at opening opportunities in an increasingly technology driven economy, while fashion and makeup provide practical entry points into self employment and small businesses that can potentially be established without the huge capital required by many formal enterprises.

Enugu will combine makeup, fashion designing and solar energy installation, with the solar component covering panel installation, maintenance and off grid solutions. The choice is significant in a country where unreliable electricity remains a major constraint on households and businesses, as the growing demand for alternative energy has created a new market for technicians capable of installing and maintaining solar systems.

Kebbi’s programme takes a slightly different route, combining graphics and artificial intelligence design and fashion designing with agriculture. The agricultural component will focus on yoghurt production, dairy processing, packaging and small scale agribusiness, exposing beneficiaries not only to agricultural production but also to value addition and the commercial opportunities available in processing and marketing agricultural products.

But perhaps the most important element of the programme comes after the classroom. The Nigerian Government plans to provide beneficiaries with starter kits corresponding to the skills they have acquired, with graphics and artificial intelligence trainees receiving laptops, makeup trainees receiving fully equipped makeup kits, fashion trainees receiving sewing machines and starter kits, and yoghurt production trainees receiving fermentation kits.

The decision to provide equipment addresses one of the most persistent weaknesses of skills acquisition programmes: the gap between learning a skill and having the means to use it. A young person trained in fashion but without a sewing machine may remain unable to earn from the skill, just as a graphics trainee without a computer may struggle to convert digital knowledge into a service that customers can pay for. By placing productive tools in the hands of beneficiaries, the NPRGS is seeking to shorten the distance between training and earning.

That distinction is crucial because Nigeria has implemented numerous skills acquisition and empowerment programmes over the years, yet questions have often remained about what happens after beneficiaries complete their training. Certificates may demonstrate that a person has acquired knowledge, but they do not automatically create a business, secure customers or guarantee an income. The real measure of success is whether beneficiaries can use what they have learnt to establish sustainable livelihoods.

The NPRGS approach attempts to address part of that problem by combining practical instruction with equipment and by tailoring courses to local economic opportunities. It also reflects a broader shift in the response to unemployment, recognising that government and private employers are unlikely to create enough formal jobs for every young Nigerian entering the labour market and that expanding the number of people capable of creating their own income opportunities is therefore essential.

However, training and starter kits alone cannot resolve Nigeria’s employment and poverty challenges. The survival and growth of businesses established by beneficiaries will depend on access to finance, electricity, markets, digital infrastructure, mentorship and a stable business environment. Without these supporting conditions, even well trained young Nigerians equipped with productive tools could struggle to move beyond small scale survival businesses.

That is why Dr Arogundade is calling on state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and private sector organisations to partner with the Federal Government as the programme expands. State institutions can help identify local opportunities and support beneficiaries, traditional and community leaders can strengthen grassroots mobilisation, while private businesses can provide markets, mentorship, apprenticeships and possible employment pathways.

The larger ambition is therefore much bigger than the 1,200 young Nigerians targeted in Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi. The programme is being positioned as part of a wider effort to reduce unemployment and underemployment, expand economic opportunities for young people and contribute to the government’s broader poverty reduction agenda.

For the beneficiaries, however, the national statistics and policy targets may matter less than what happens when the training ends. A laptop can become the beginning of a digital enterprise, a sewing machine can become a fashion business, a makeup kit can become a source of income, while solar installation skills can provide an entry point into a growing energy market. In Kebbi, a yoghurt fermentation kit could become the foundation of a small food processing business.

That is truly the test of the poverty reduction strategy: whether skills acquired in government supported classrooms can be converted into livelihoods outside them. If beneficiaries remain unemployed or economically vulnerable after the training, the intervention would have achieved only part of its objective. But if they can turn their skills and starter equipment into functioning businesses, generate income and eventually employ others, the programme could demonstrate how targeted investment in young people can contribute to poverty reduction from the grassroots.

As the intervention moves from Abuja into the states, the Federal Government is betting that Nigerian youths can be moved from being primarily job seekers to becoming earners, entrepreneurs and, potentially, employers. The proposition is straightforward but ambitious: Nigeria’s young population is not simply a demographic challenge requiring jobs; it is an economic resource that, when equipped with relevant skills, productive tools and access to opportunities, can help create the livelihoods needed to reduce poverty.

The scale of the challenge remains enormous, but so is the potential. For the government, the success of the programme will be determined not by how many young Nigerians sit through 10 days or two weeks of training, but by how many are still earning from their skills months and years afterwards. The real victory will come when training ends not with a certificate alone, but with a livelihood.