The Youth Empowerment and Social Support Operations (YESSO 2.0) have stated their commitment to partner with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to take youths out of poverty in Nigeria.
The National Programme Manager of YESSO 2.0, Comrade Richard Romanus disclosed this when he led a delegation to the NDE National office in Abuja.
Comrade Romanus noted that the visit was to seek support and collaboration from stakeholders to help achieve the set goals for the commencement of YESSO 2.0
He, also, said his team was ready to partner with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), with a view to enhancing empowerment opportunities for the Nigerian Youths in line with President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda through the National Social Intervention Programs under the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
“We have identified NDE as a major player in the success of YESSO 1.0, hence, we are here to seek the same support to make YESSO 2.0 even bigger and more successful. We have quite a number of programs lined up for implementation that will enable the teeming youth population to become gainfully empowered and maximize their entrepreneurial potential.
The National Programme Manager noted that most youths were unemployed not because there was no job to do “but because they did not have the required skills, marketable skills that would grant them employment.
“YESSO is about training for skills for jobs, so we will partner with NDE to train these youths on marketable skills that will make them self-employed, to be self-reliant, and to even have access to start-up funds where possible.”
In his response, the Director General of NDE represented by the Director, Vocational Skills Development, Mr. Issah Abdu stated their readiness to collaborate with any group or organisation on how unemployed youths in the country can be taken out of poverty.
The Director General congratulated the new YESSO team on the appointment, saying youth empowerment must be administered by the youths themselves.
He disclosed that the NDE had collaborated with the World Bank in the implementation of the YESSO 1.0 Programme. He assured that the NDE will key into different programs of YESSO 2.0 to ensure the empowerment of youths, positive engagement of the people, and things that could reduce social tension in the country.
He further disclosed that the NDE has 96 vocational skills acquisition centres across the country, including Agricultural centres and Mobil Training Workshop booths in rural areas.
Highlight of the meeting was an interactive session and group photograph.