News in brief:
– The Renewed Hope Initiative has launched a program to provide jobs and vocational training for 93,731 unskilled individuals.
– While the effort aligns with the president’s agenda, critics note it addresses only a fraction of Nigeria’s 4.7 million unemployed.
President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Initiative has announced an employment programme aimed at providing jobs for 93,731 unskilled individuals. Several media outlets in the country reported the announcement over the weekend.
The program will be managed by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) and is being compared to former President Buhari’s N-Power project. However, the Renewed Hope Mass Employment Creation Initiative will focus on vocational, agricultural, and entrepreneurial skill development.
Beneficiaries are expected to transition into public sector jobs after their training. Additionally, those interested in starting medium- or large-scale businesses will receive startup capital, equipment, and support to access loans.
Interested participants can create an account using this link with a valid email address, passport photograph, and National Identity Number (NIN). For assistance, they can contact any NDE office near them.
Online and in-person registration, which began on October 21, 2024, will close on December 31, 2024. After registering, candidates will be contacted with information on training locations and other necessary details.
The training will last for three months, offering participants a choice of 30 different skills.
Young and Unemployed?
The Renewed Hope Employment Initiative is an opportunity to join the National Directorate Of Employment as they seek to engage over 90,000 Nigerians on a 3 months training and job creation endeavor!
Link: https://t.co/MbN6RNT2Ad#BelieveInPBAT pic.twitter.com/CpfdqJwgjH
— President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Media Centre (@PBATMediaCentre) October 27, 2024
At the ongoing registration exercise in Oyo State, the Director-General of the NDE, Silas Agara, emphasized that this job creation initiative aligns with the president’s Renewed Hope Agenda by prioritising six of the eight key focus areas.
With more than 4.7 million people unemployed in Nigeria, according to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), creating jobs for 93,000 individuals barely makes a dent in the problem.
Furthermore, considering that the previous administration supported about one million unemployed people through a similar program, the Tinubu government will need to quickly scale up the initiative after the first successful batch.
