Amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s soaring youth unemployment rate, stakeholders have called for urgent, scalable solutions to integrate young graduates into the formal workforce, warning that the country risks losing its economic potential if current trends continue unchecked.
According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the youth unemployment rate has tripled since 2015, rising from 19 per cent to 53 per cent. While 3.2 million Nigerian youth entered the job market in 2024, the economy created fewer than 500,000 formal positions, leaving approximately 2.7 million young people competing for informal work or considering emigration.
This call was made at the African Workforce Summit (AWS) 2025, a strategic platform, created with the aim of addressing the urgent need for job creation and workforce readiness.
With the Theme, “The Fuse”, the two-day event, which was held at Sheba Event Centre in Ikeja Lagos, connected job seekers directly with employers through on-the-spot interviews, while offering practical training to improve employability and career outcomes. The summit attracted hundreds of young Nigerians, particularly graduates and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members.
The Founder of AWS, Moses Joel Babatunde, revealed that the initiative was structured to ensure that at least a hundred participants secure employment, marking a clear shift from talk-based summits to result-driven action.
“We didn’t just gather people to listen to speakers. On the first day, interviews were conducted and job offers began immediately. Our goal is to ensure no fewer than 100 new job placements are secured from this summit,” he said.
In addition to job interviews, Babatunde noted that participants also had access to targeted workshops on personal branding, CV optimisation and salary negotiation. According to him, the skills are often overlooked but remain essential in navigating an increasingly competitive labour market.
He explained that many job opportunities were never advertised publicly and required strategic positioning and networking, which the summit also aimed to teach.
Babatunde pointed out that this year’s edition marks a significant evolution of the programme. Formerly known as HR Crunch, the summit was rebranded to Africa Workforce Summit to reflect its expanded continental vision. According to him, plans are already underway to replicate the summit in Kigali, Rwanda, in September, making it a pan-African effort.
Also speaking, the co-founder of PaidHR, Seye Bandele, who spoke during a Founder’s Chat session, emphasised that leaders must go beyond recruitment to inspire purpose and direction.
