The Federal Government on Tuesday reiterated its commitment to address the issue of youth development in the country.
Solomon Dalung, the Minister of Youth and Sports, said this in Abuja at a two-day National Stakeholder’s Meeting on Youth Employment with the theme: “Cross-Sectoral Collaboration for Youth Skill Development and Entrepreneur Training.”
Dalung said that governments over the years have failed in the implementation of youth programmes hence the need for deliberate approach for implementation.
The minister said investment in the youth would not only ensure a secured future for the country, but a neglected youth would also determine the kind of future that awaits a nation.
Dalung said the objective of the meeting was to reach consensus on the challenges of youth employment and agree on the strategic actions to address funding and implementation gaps.
He said the meeting would garner technical and financial support for the Nigerian Youth Job Creation Initiative and develop a harmonised Youth Entrepreneurship Training and Support Plan.
Dalung said that lack of synergy was a major setback for youth development; hence stress the need for the meeting to build synergy among identified stakeholders in implementation.
Earlier, the Director of Youth Development in the ministry, Luka Mangset, said recent statistics shows that youth unemployment rate stand at 42.24 per cent in the first quarter of 2016.
He said the challenge of youth unemployment was explained by the economy’s weak absorptive capacity of new entrants into the labour market.
Dalung said: “The provision of an enabling environment for youth to be engaged in economic activities will not only ensure social stability.
“But will contribute to an increase in the economic growth of Nigeria.’’
Mangset called for the setting up of an institutional arrangement for implementation and develop framework for National Standardisation and Certification of Skills Training for youth.
He said Skill Development Training in Seven Key Sectors: manufacturing, ICT, Construction, Maritime, Agriculture and Automobile was necessary.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the meeting was attended by a cross-section of youths, youth development officers from various ministries and representatives of the Ford Foundation.
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