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JAN, Momoh advise entrepreneurship education

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By Abraham Adekunle

JAN and Momoh say entrepreneurship education is needed to curb unemployment.

In 2020, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recorded the rate of unemployment at 33.3 percent. The unemployment rate in Nigeria rose to 35 percent in 2021, according to Agusto & Co., a credit rating agency. In light of this, the Executive Director of Junior Achievement of Nigeria (JAN), Foluso Gbadamosi, and the Chairman of Channels Media Group, Dr John Momoh, have advised that enhanced entrepreneurship studies among the youth is needed to curb unemployment in the country.

The duo said this during the stakeholders’ virtual Engagement Session, which was organized by JAN with the theme: “Building thriving communities for young people.” Gbadamosi said, “The engagement session was borne out of the socio-economic exigency to further equip young people with requisite skills to enable them to function as members of society. The theme was carefully selected to bring to the fore issues that affect young people, particularly how to reduce youth unemployment through entrepreneurship education for sustainable economic development and how we can build thriving communities for young people because we believe that young people have the mindset and skills to build thriving communities as we remain committed to the UN SDGs 1, 4, 5, 8, and 17.”

Nigerian youth see building skills as solution to unemployment.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) are 17. SDG-1 aims to eradicate poverty; SDG-4&5 promotes quality education for all and gender equality; SDG-8&17 seek economic growth and partnership. This is why many youths that are taking courses for various skill sets see this as a solution to the problem of unemployment in Nigeria. Many have taken to learning programming and other tech-related skills such as front-end web development, backend development, cloud computing, data science and analysis, UI/UX design, and many more. Gbadamosi revealed that JAN had embarked on life transformational programme centered on three core pillars of entrepreneurship, work readiness, financial literacy, and digital literacy. She added that the programs were aimed at inspiring and empowering young people to succeed and become conscientious business leaders in a global economy.

She enumerates what they have done this year so far. “The year started on a very high note as our students from Secondary School Etoi, Akwa Ibom State represented Nigeria at the Africa Company of the Year Competition; they came home with the Citi Foundation Client Focus Award and the CEO Rising Award. We also partnered with Prince’s Trust International to implement the first-ever Enterprise Challenge Program in Nigeria, that builds the entrepreneurship spirit of senior secondary school students. We also celebrated the annual Global Money Week as well as the Financial Literacy Day in partnership with the Bankers’ Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

JAN also partnered with Mixta Africa to implement different programme.

Gbadamosi said, “In partnership with Mixta Africa, we implemented a webinar against bullying and bystander. We also commenced the second phase of the implementation of the Google career Certificate Program in partnership with Google Inc. where young people were equipped with skills in project management, UI/UX, Data Analytics, and IT Support.” These programs and skills are where majority of Nigerian youth are making headway in the current economy of the country. As the unemployment rate continue to skyrocket, the demand for these skills especially abroad is also increasing.

“On a global outlook, Junior Achievement Worldwide was nominated for the Nobel Peace prize,” Gbadamosi said. “This is a testament to the amazing works we are doing not only in Nigeria but also in other parts of the world. It was therefore not surprising that Junior Achievement Worldwide remained one of the top 10 NGOs in the world for the fourth consecutive year.” She praised partners and donors for their support and sustained partnership in repositioning and empowering young people to succeed in a global economy.

Dr. John Momoh commended the organization’s initiative.

Chairman of Channels Media Group, Dr. John Momoh, commended the organization’s initiative while delivering his keynote speech at the virtual event. He said it would serve as a great way to help stimulate thoughts and generate ideas that could enhance youth’s capacity for growth. “The youth are not just the future of a nation but an embodiment of a nation’s hope. They are the catalyst for change. Youth unemployment in Nigeria is as high as 70 per cent, and that means serious social, economic and political implications for the country. Ignoring these potential problems amounts to threatening the very survival of Nigeria as a nation – as can be seen in the violence that has become a daily occurrence in our country.”

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