The Federal Government has expanded its skills training programme to Oyo, Enugu and Kebbi states, targeting 1,200 Nigerian youths in the latest phase of its National Poverty Reduction with Growth Strategy (NPRGS).
The initiative, implemented by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (OSSAP-TVEE), is aimed at equipping young Nigerians with practical and marketable skills to reduce unemployment, promote entrepreneurship and support the government’s goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education, Dr. Abiola Arogundade, said the programme was a central pillar of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
She said Nigerian youths should be seen as part of the solution to the country’s challenges.
“Nigerian youths are not the problem facing the country but the solution to its challenges,” Arogundade said.
Arogundade said the programme recorded significant success during its pilot phase in Abuja, which began on June 30, 2025, with training in cybersecurity, web development and solar energy installation.
She described the pilot phase as a “resounding success,” noting that participants who initially arrived with doubts left with practical and marketable skills.
According to her, participants built their first websites and gained an understanding of digital security fundamentals, while graduates received laptops and certificates of completion.
She said the Abuja phase attracted more than 7,000 applications, highlighting the strong demand for the programme among young Nigerians.
The Federal Government is now expanding the programme across the country’s geopolitical zones, with each zone hosting 200 trainees for training sessions lasting between 10 days and two weeks.
Arogundade said the skills offered in each state were selected based on local market demand, relevance and trainee preferences.
In Oyo State, training is scheduled to begin on September 28, 2026, and will run for two weeks from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. Participants will receive training in Graphics/Artificial Intelligence design, makeup and fashion designing.
Enugu State will offer training in makeup, solar energy installation and fashion designing, while Kebbi State will provide training in Graphics/AI design, fashion designing and agriculture, particularly yoghurt making.
The Federal Government said each participant would receive a complete training kit to take home upon completion of the programme.
The kits include laptops for Graphics/AI trainees, fully equipped makeup kits, sewing machines and starter kits for fashion trainees, as well as fermentation kits for participants undergoing yoghurt-making training.
Arogundade said the programme was designed to equip Nigerian youths with practical, marketable skills, reduce unemployment and underemployment, promote entrepreneurship and self-reliance, and contribute to the national goal of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty within 10 years.
She also called on state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders and the private sector to partner with the Federal Government as the programme expands to additional states across the country.