Challenges

In Sub-Saharan Africa, youth employment is high on the policy agenda with youth unemployment reaching over 11 million and a further 69 per cent of youth living in poverty despite working. In Nigeria, the growing youth population continues to exert pressure on the labour market. Despite the recognition of how vital it is to invest in both the quantity and the quality of jobs for youth, efforts often remained ad-hoc and fragmented.

Challenges faced: The South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) modality of the Academy on Youth Employment requires the participation of relevant stakeholders and the commitment of all participants – to share good practices and lessons learned and adapt those to different contexts in collaboration with a diverse audience of senior government officials. These personals are involved in the design and implementation of employment policies, representatives of workers’ and employers’ organizations and young leaders active in the promotion of decent work for youth.

Toward a Solution

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development developed the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP) as a multi-stakeholder strategy to respond effectively to the youth employment challenge in Nigeria.

The NIYEAP wanted to tackle the problem by addressing fragmentation and harnessing technical and financial resources. The NIYEAP also serves as commitment to the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth. The Academy on Youth Employment has served as a SSTC modality in the preparation of the NIYEAP.

The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development led the development of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan. The ILO provided technical and financial support for its development. The Academy on Youth Employment was organized by the ILO in collaboration with ITC-ILO in Turin and was supported by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Programme d’appui à la promotion de l’emploi et la réduction de la pauvreté (APERP), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida).

The Academy on Youth Employment applied a targeted approach to the selection of participants and awards fellowships for selected applicants. The SSTC modality and learning approach of the Academy is highly participatory and allows for discussion and exploration of the perspectives of social partners and other development actors. Recognized subject-matter specialists, panel discussions, and group work exercises base the methodology on a combination of individual presentations.

Decent Jobs for Youth is the global initiative to scale up action and impact on youth employment under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In November 2018, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development of Nigeria made a commitment towards the Global Initiative focused on the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP). In the development of the NIYEAP, the Academy on Youth Employment organized by the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization in Turin in 2018 served as a platform to apply a South-South and Triangular Cooperation (SSTC) modality.

The Academy on Youth Employment was an opportunity for representatives of governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations from various African economies to exchange vies, best practices and lessons learned on issues such as economic policies for youth employment, skills development, youth entrepreneurship, rural youth employment and green jobs for youth.

Both the Global Initiative and the NIYEAP promote a multi-stakeholder approach to addressing youth employment. After the consultation meeting held on the NIYEAP and the Global Initiative in Abuja in November 2018, the Action Plan was presented at a regional youth employment forum for West Africa in Dakar. The Youth Employment Academy helps to catalyze joint action on improving labour market outcomes of young people in a coherent manner.

The SSTC modality of the Academy on Youth Employment has supported the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development in strengthening its capacity for rigorous diagnosis of youth employment challenges and for the formulation of a comprehensive Youth Employment Action Plan.

An integrated and well-coordinated approach to youth employment requires the strong involvement of all concerned national actors. In Nigeria, the Global Initiative on Decent Jobs for Youth has been established through the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan, which brings together the government, social partners, the UN System, youth and civil society, the private sector, regional institutions, parliamentarians, foundations, academia and the media in promoting decent jobs for youth.