The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Federal Government have called on the youth to invest their time more in acquiring digital skills to be self-reliant.
The call was made on Friday in Abuja at the
World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) 2023 ceremony, centered on inter-generational dialogue between youth development stakeholders and young people in the green, digital and creative sector of Nigerian economy.
The event with the theme: “Empowering Youth for a Sustainable Future: Building Skills for Tomorrow” was organised by ILO through collaboration with the UN Nigeria, Nigeria Youth SDG, Youth Employ Africa and Africado Foundation.
Vanessa Phala, ILO Country Director, for Nigeria, Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, said the dialogue had become important for youth stakeholders to create platform for meaningful discussion and prioritise youth development in Nigeria.
According to her, the dialogue is designed to bring stakeholders in youth development together to discuss opportunities and ensure young people were adequately prepared for the present and future labour market.
Phala said, “It is on how young persons can position themselves to actually take advantage of those opportunities and contribute meaningfully to economic growth in Nigeria.
“It is also imperative that young persons invest their time to research and explore what is available for them, because there are partnerships between different stakeholders.
“Be it the UN level with government, private sector, the representative of the D-G, Employers of Nigeria Consultative Association (NECA) made a presentation about opportunities, in terms of training they offer in the digital space.
“Therefore, it is important for young persons to get to know what is out there for them, so they can reap some of these interventions.
“The Day is annually celebrated on July 15, so this is opportunity for relevant stakeholders to come together and commemorate such depending on the theme.”
Sen. George Akume, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), commended the event to be apt in shaping the future of Nigerian youth who constitute 65 per cent of the nation’s population.
Akume was represented by Mrs Uko Esuabana, the Permanent Secretary, Political and Economic Affairs of the Office of the SGF.
According to him, demographic percentage of the youth population is Nigeria’s greatest power: saying, “We must harness it positively to compete favorably with economies of the world.
Akume said, “Today we are gathered here to recognize and celebrate remarkable potential of our youths, in shaping the future that is prosperous, sustainable and industrious.
“I will like to express appreciation to ILO and its partners for organising this event; together we have embarked on collaborative endeavor.
“To reach the skills camp and empower youths in digital creative skills, the significance of the dialogue is that it does not only address challenges facing our young ones today.
“Also in harnessing their innate potential as catalyst for transformative change. Today’s youth represents asset constituting significant portion of our population, which is key to sustainable development and wealth of our nation.”
Also, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, represented by Mr Usman Ibrahim, Deputy Director in the ministry, called for adequate investment in youth development programmes, to achieve desired goals.
According to him, there is the need to prioritise investment in young people as a strategy to boost their productive energy and creativity in the society.
“”Their energy, vibrancy, creativity and adaptability are attributes that can promote social and economic progress; youths are not only important partners in the current national development process, also future of development initiatives.
“Without strategic engagements young people will continue to face social and economic challenges, in the development effort of economies of the world,” Ibrahim said.
Meanwhile, Mr Lanre Yusuf, CEO of Tech Specialist Consulting Ltd., who represented the D-G of NECA, Mr Adewale Smart, said proper investment in the youth digital literacy would advance their skills development in the country.
“This is for youths to expand their knowledge and put their skills to work, by doing this, youths will be more equipped to keep up with the evolving digital space.
“In today’s digital creative world, digital literacy has become crucial for people of all age brackets and background, and essential for modern work space.
“Also, it is a means to access information, services online, meaningful digital technology and boost expression, therefore, individuals must improve their digital technology skills to keep pace with global trends,” he advised.
Highpoint of the event was poetic spoken word, group discussion and official inauguration of the portal for innovation challenge.
The WYSD is often observed annually on July 15, every year, to equip young people with requisite skills necessary for decent work, employment and entrepreneurship globally.