The Federal Government (FG) has stepped up efforts to tackle youth unemployment, calling on international partners and private sector players to support a large-scale skills development programme aimed at millions of young Nigerians.
Speaking at the opening of the National Skills and Industry Alignment Roundtable Series (Q1 2026) in Abuja yesterday, Vice President Kashim Shettima said the government was moving away from fragmented interventions towards a more coordinated national strategy.
The event, themed “Bridging Skills Supply and Labour Market Demand,” focused on aligning vocational training with real economic opportunities.
Represented by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Shettima stressed that Nigeria’s challenge was not a shortage of talent, but a mismatch between training and industry needs.
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He said many young Nigerians entered the labour market each year with ambition, yet ended up in unstable, informal jobs that contributed little to national productivity.
According to him, the government was working towards a system where skills development leads directly to employment, supports enterprise, and ultimately drives economic growth.
Mr Shettima urged businesses to go beyond hiring workers and take an active role in shaping the workforce.
He said industry leaders must clearly define the skills they require and work closely with training institutions to develop them, noting that the government alone could not resolve the unemployment challenge.
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The roundtable, supported by the European Union, builds on earlier efforts to map Nigeria’s job creation landscape.
The EU’s Head of Cooperation for Nigeria and ECOWAS, Massimo De Luca, commended the integration of initiatives such as the 3MTT (Three Million Technical Talent) programme into a broader national framework.
Other stakeholders at the meeting included: Ahmed Musa Dangiwa, Minister of Housing and Urban Development, who highlighted the urgent need for skilled artisans to address the housing deficit, the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Aliko Dangote Foundation.
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Senior Special Assistant to the President on Delivery and Coordination, Akubo Adegbe, said the roundtable series was designed to deliver measurable outcomes across key sectors, rather than remain a talking shop.
He added that the government remained committed to harnessing the energy of Nigeria’s large youth population through a more structured, coordinated and results-driven economic approach.
