Follow Us on Google
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called for a stronger partnership with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to expand opportunities for young Nigerians, strengthen entrepreneurship and accelerate grassroots industrialisation across the country.
The National Public Relations Officer of NACCIMA, Mrs. Madinat Adigun-Oladotun, made the call during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the NDE, Silas Agara, where both organisations explored areas of collaboration in youth empowerment, skills development and enterprise creation.
Adigun-Oladotun, who was accompanied by the Managing Director of Qahhar Engineering and Consult Ltd and member of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Council, Engr. Idayat Yusuf, said sustainable economic growth depended largely on the productive engagement of the country’s youthful population.
She noted that Nigerian youths constituted a significant part of the nation’s human capital and economic potential, stressing that equipping them with relevant skills and creating opportunities for them to translate those skills into businesses remained critical to inclusive economic development.
According to her, NACCIMA considers youth entrepreneurship, vocational and technical skills development, digital innovation and industrialisation as key pillars for building a productive economy.
“At NACCIMA, we recognise that the future of Nigeria’s economy will largely be determined by how successfully we equip our young people with the skills, opportunities and platforms required to become entrepreneurs, industrialists and employers of labour.
“This is why NACCIMA has a dedicated youth platform, the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE), which continues to receive strong support from our National President, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, FNSE, FAEng, FCIoD, OON, mni, in line with his vision of building the next generation of Nigerian business leaders and industrialists,” she said.
The NACCIMA PRO urged the NDE to support the development of a structured partnership with the association covering entrepreneurship development, vocational and technical skills acquisition, digital innovation, enterprise incubation, mentorship, market access and business financing opportunities.
She particularly emphasised the need to bridge the gap between skills acquisition and actual economic production, warning that training beneficiaries without providing the infrastructure and support required to commercialise their skills could limit the long-term impact of empowerment programmes.
Other News
To address this challenge, Adigun-Oladotun proposed collaboration among NACCIMA, the NDE and state governments to attract private-sector investors for the establishment of cottage industrial parks across the country.
She explained that the proposed industrial parks would provide shared production facilities, machinery, infrastructure, utilities and business-support services, enabling beneficiaries of NDE and other vocational training programmes to transition from skills acquisition to actual production and enterprise development.
According to her, the model could help transform the growing pool of trained artisans, technicians and young entrepreneurs into productive businesses, manufacturers and employers of labour.
“Our objective should not end at training people and issuing certificates. We must create the ecosystem that enables those skills to become productive enterprises.
“By working together with the NDE, state governments and credible private-sector investors, we can establish cottage industrial parks where trained Nigerians can have access to shared machinery, production infrastructure, markets and business support. This will help transform skills into businesses, businesses into industries, and ultimately contribute to employment creation and national industrialisation,” she stated.
Adigun-Oladotun commended the NDE for its initiatives aimed at promoting self-reliance, employment creation and economic empowerment, expressing confidence that stronger engagement with the organised private sector through NACCIMA would further enhance the impact and sustainability of the directorate’s programmes.
Responding, the NDE Director-General, Silas Agara, exchanged views with the delegation on areas of mutual interest and outlined the mandate, programmes and achievements of the directorate under his leadership.
The discussions also focused on opportunities to deepen public-private sector collaboration in youth empowerment, entrepreneurship, vocational development and the creation of sustainable pathways that would enable beneficiaries to move from skills acquisition to productive enterprise.
The visit highlighted the shared commitment of NACCIMA and the NDE to strengthening Nigeria’s human capital, expanding employment opportunities and creating an enabling environment for young Nigerians to contribute meaningfully to the country’s industrial and economic growth.
