The Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mohammed Abdullahi, has warned that 85 million Nigerians are at the risk of losing their jobs due to lack of digital knowledge and skills.
According to him, “85 million people are about to lose their jobs due to lack of digital knowledge and skills. As a ministry, we’re leveraging on TVET as a means of getting the youths employed, and we are ready for to partner the UNICEF.”
The Minister, who spoke at the launching of the Generation Unlimited Nigeria, a global platform bringing together government, multi-sectorial institutions, private sector and young people with the aim of supporting 20 million young Nigerians within the ages of 10 to 24, and 35 years to get jobs by 2030, said that the ministry is leveraging on existing structures at its disposal with a mission to incubate young people and get them ready for the labour market.
This was even as the Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje lamented the inadequate skill acquisition, which is also absent in the Nigerian university curriculum.
He said that universities have continued to graduate unemployable youths without skills.
Ganduje said that his government has spent N7 billion to build skills acquisition centre in the state that can make youths self-employed.
He said that his government has been able to identify 20 different skills, and “we are graduating thousands of youths who are being employed and are entrepreneurs too.”
