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The Federal Government, in partnership with the International Labour Organization (ILO), is set to bring private-sector stakeholders to the centre of efforts to reshape Nigeria’s youth employment strategy, with a call for businesses to help turn skills into sustainable jobs and economic opportunities.
The initiative is part of the review and revision of the Nigerian Youth Employment Action Plan (NIYEAP) 2025–2030), which seeks to establish an evidence-based, implementation-oriented and private-sector-responsive framework for youth employment, employability, entrepreneurship, decent work and equal opportunities.
The two-day private-sector co-creation workshop, themed “From Skills to Jobs: Co-Creating Private Sector Pathways for Youth Employment and Economic Opportunities,” is scheduled for September 28 and 29, 2026, at Nordic Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos.
According to the workshop concept note, the review comes at a critical time for Nigeria, with young people facing challenges including unemployment, underemployment, skills mismatch, informality, weak school-to-work transitions and limited access to finance and employment opportunities.
The document also identifies emerging opportunities in the digital economy, artificial intelligence, green jobs, climate-smart agriculture, renewable energy, creative industries, tourism, the care economy, manufacturing, agro-processing and platform-based work as potential areas for expanding youth employment.
It states that “the private sector is central to creating sustainable employment opportunities for young Nigerians,” arguing that the NIYEAP review provides an opportunity to strengthen the connection between skills development, labour-market demand, entrepreneurship, investment and decent work pathways.
The workshop is expected to generate practical evidence, priorities, commitments and implementation arrangements for a Private Sector Engagement Strategy that will guide business participation in implementing, financing, monitoring and evaluating the revised youth employment plan.
Its organisers say the strategy will also identify the conditions government and other partners must provide to enable businesses to expand productive and decent employment opportunities for young Nigerians.
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A major focus will be on creating stronger pathways from education and training into employment through internships, apprenticeships, work-based learning and improved school-to-work transitions, while ensuring that training responds more closely to what employers actually need.
The consultation will also examine how youth-led enterprises and small businesses can gain access to corporate supply chains, procurement opportunities, markets, finance and investment, with participants expected to identify practical mechanisms for reducing barriers to enterprise growth and job creation.
The organisers are further calling for stronger attention to job quality and inclusion, including wages, occupational safety, social protection, gender, disability, rural youth, young people not in employment, education or training, and the impact of artificial intelligence and technology on entry-level jobs.
The two-day engagement is designed as a solution-oriented exercise rather than a conventional consultation, with participants expected to validate existing evidence, identify priority problems, develop practical solutions, assign responsibilities and agree on areas where private-sector ownership can drive implementation.
Participants will include employers and business leaders, sector associations, MSMEs, youth-led enterprises, financial institutions, investors, innovation hubs, skills providers, recruitment and business-development organisations, women-led business networks, disability-inclusive employers, government institutions and development partners.
The Federal Ministry of Youth Development will provide policy leadership, while the ILO, through its Strengthening Employment and Employability Systems in Nigeria (SEESIN) project, will provide technical assistance. The Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) will also contribute employer and worker perspectives to the process.
By the end of the engagement, organisers expect to produce an evidence-backed map of priority sectors, occupations and value chains, practical recommendations on skills development and work-based learning, a government-enablement matrix, private-sector financing and investment options, and a framework for tracking employment commitments and outcomes.
The workshop will also seek to identify one or two promising initiatives for further development or piloting after the NIYEAP revision, including opportunities in Lagos and other willing states. The organisers said the ultimate objective is to move from identifying youth employment challenges to creating implementable pathways that connect young Nigerians to productive, decent and sustainable work.
