Presidential Aide tasks Nigerian Youth stakeholders on skills mentorship

Malam Nasir Adhama, Special Adviser to the President on Youth and Student Matters, has urged stakeholders to adopt mentorship and training for youths to build their skills needed for labour force.

Adhama gave the task on Tuesday during the First Youth Employability skills interactive session in commemoration of 2016 Workers Day in Abuja.

``Our youths need mentors to guide and give them direction, they need skills to be employed and we have people with those skills in our offices, organisations and factories.

``Our strategy, therefore, is to partner with those that are already engaging the labour force to provide guidance to the youths in needed skills to live productive lives,’’ he said.

Adhama, however, called on the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other stakeholders to adopt an approach of ``One Youth, One Mentor’’ as a means of bridging the skills gap.

He said the event was organised to discuss the challenges Nigerian youths were facing in the saturated labour environment with the view to engage stakeholders to proffer solutions.

``It needs no emphasising the fact that Nigeria is today at a very critical moment when many youths are either employed or unemployable due to lack of skills to perform certain tasks.
``Although there is no authentic statistics of unemployed Nigerian youths, I believe the figure is overwhelming considering the large number of youth roaming the streets,’’ Adhama said.

He said the present administration policy for the youths ``is not to provide employment but create opportunities for self employment in agriculture and solid minerals sectors of the economy''.

The Acting Executive Chairman, Federal Character Commission, Alhaji Shettima Abba, enjoined youths to shun all vices inimical to growth as violence and all forms of criminality are the greatest enemy of a nation.

Abba said the youth anywhere in the world had been the fulcrum of change, adding that youths can impact positive change if given the opportunity to translate their talent and energy into productive ventures.

The FCT Council Chairman, Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Mr Paul Abeche, said the union had made efforts concerning employment by engaging proactive steps to liberate journalists who were deprived of their salaries by media houses.

``When we have achieved a conducive working environment, it will invariably create more opportunities and open up vistas of employment.

``The programme is not out of place as it seeks the preparedness of the youths for taking advantage of opportunities ahead,'' he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria.
Abuja, May 3, 2016