Abuja (ILO news): The newly appointed Director-General NYSC, Brigadier General Shuaibu Ibrahim, paid a courtesy visit to the ILO Country Office in Abuja to discuss areas of further collaboration between the ILO and NYSC for the promotion of youth entrepreneurship skills development.

Welcoming the DG NYSC to the Country Office, the ILO Country Director, Mr. Dennis Zulu in his welcome remarks explained the ILO, mission, vision and the Decent Work agenda. In particular, he emphasized the activities of ILO in ensuring increased employment opportunities for both men and women. He added that “In doing this, ILO is in partnership with a number of government institutions including the NYSC”.  Furthermore, he noted the ILO’s ‘Start and Improving Your Business (SIYB) Management Programme’  which has been very instrumental is fostering entrepreneurship in Nigeria and has been adopted into the NYSC strategy to support the NYSC’s mandate to promote entrepreneurship.

Making reference to ILO and social protection, the ILO Director informed the meeting on collaborations with organisations such as   National AIDS and STI Control Programme (NASCOP) and National Pension Commission (PENCOM) to ensure people have a favourable pension scheme and access to social protection services currently available. The ILO Director appreciated the efforts of the NYSC in ensuring that young Nigerians are equipped with the skills to be responsible adults in their careers and life. Mr. Zulu emphasised ILO’s commitment to providing support for developing the capacity of Nigerian Youth and continued collaboration with the NYSC to this end.

Brigadier General Ibrahim thanked ILO for their continued support not the least being with the establishment of the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Department (SAED) and the SIYB training support, as well as hosting them on a short notice.  Responding to the Director’s remark, the Director-General, NYSC agreed that the issue of limited availability of job opportunities among youth has been a concern to the agency since his assumption of office in May 2019. He also expressed his hope that with the support and partnerships from other government agencies and the international community such as with the ILO and the Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigerian youth would be given the opportunity to excel through entrepreneurship and capacity building.

Brigadier General Ibrahim concluded the meeting by appreciating ILO once again for supporting his plan to expand the SAED programme to all parts of the country. Mr Zulu, in turn, promised that the ILO will provide all needed support to the scheme as the need arises.