By Nkiruka Nnorom

Unemployment in Nigeria, especially among the youths, has been part of the critical issues affecting the country’s socio-economic stability.

Not only does the trend of youth unemployment stall economic development in the country, it exposes these young Nigerians to various social crimes, including banditary, kidnapping, prostitution, social unrest and other structural inadequacies.

Though unemployment affects people of all ages in Nigeria, the staggering number of unemployed youths has a profound impact on national security.

Startling youth unemployment figures

The latest data from the National Bureau of Statistic, NBS, shows that generally, the unemployment rate in Nigeria rose to 5.3 percent in the first quarter of the year, Q1’24, from 4.1 percent in Q1’23, marking three consecutive quarters of increase.

Consequently, Nigeria’s misery index – the sum of unemployment and inflation rates – rose to 36.9 percent in Q1 2024 from 30.5 percent in Q3 2023.

Youth unemployment rates, on the other hand, increased to 8.4 percent in Q1 2024, showing a 1.5 percentage points increase from 6.9 percent in Q1’23. This figure indicates that 12.68 million Nigerian youths out of 151 million are out of employment. Before the adoption of the new labour force survey by the NBS, about 53 percent, representing over 80 million, out of 151 million of the youth population in Nigeria were out of employment.

The latest data also shows that the percentage of youth who have completed their education but are neither pursuing further education, employment or training (NEET Rate) was 14.4% (21.7 million) of the total youth population, up from 13.7 percent in Q3 2023.

Moreover, the unemployment rate was higher among youths with post-secondary education at 9 percent relative to person’s with secondary education (6.9%) and primary education at 4 percent, implying a negative correlation between human capital development and unemployment due to possible mismatch between labour market entrants and the industry labour requirements.

FG’s efforts, underwhelming

In an effort to arrest the situation, the government has over time designed different intervention programs that are meant to tackle the problem either by providing capacity training or outright employment.

The federal government has in the past used some proactive mechanisms like some interventions captured in the National Social Investment Programme, including the N-Power programme, Government Enterprises Empowerment Programme (GEEP), National Youth Empowerment Action Plan and a host of others to reduce unemployment rate among the youths.

President Bola Tinubu has also launched the “3 Million Tech Talents” (3MTT) initiative through the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy in a bid to address youth unemployment.

However, these efforts have achieved little due to the huge Nigerian population and growing youth population.

Nestle Nigeria: Bridging the Gap

In a bid to complement the government’s efforts and mitigate the crisis, corporates like Nestle Nigeria Plc are taking the bulls by the horns by designing programs and initiatives that address the problem by improving the youths employability through capacity building and employment offer.

In line with this determination, Nestle Nigeria Plc has been investing resources and time in developing technical expertise among these young generations of Nigerians.

The company has in-house training facilities complemented, when and where necessary, with external and overseas training for these trainees and its employees alike. This broadens opportunities for career development within and outside the organization.

Among the programs targeting the youths, Nestle Nigeria has in place The Nestle Technical Training Center (TTC), a multi-skill engineering training program that runs for a period of 18 months and the Nestle Needs YOUths initiative, through which the company has empowered 209 and 250,000 youths respectively to-date ( between 2013 to 2024). The company has so far invested over N6 billion in the TTC program.

The company’s efforts are part of a larger strategy to prepare Nigerian youths for the future, ensuring they can thrive in an evolving industrial landscape.

Technical Training Center’s success, impact

Through the TTC, the company has trained and graduated 209 young men and women between 2013 and 2024.

Notably, 201 of them, representing 96.2 percent of the program’s graduates have been employed within Nestlé Nigeria, while eight of them were employed by external parties, illustrating the program’s success and impact.

Specifically, from its Agbara factory where the TTC program started, a total of 137 trainees graduated; 130 of them were employed by Nestle while seven were employed by external parties.

The Abaji factory training, which has run for three years, admitted 72 youths, graduated 52, while 51 were employed by the company. The remaining one was employed by an external party.

The success of the company’s Agbara and Abaji factories encouraged the establishment of the TTC model in the company’s Flowergate factory in Sagamu Ogun State in February 2024 with 20 pioneer students who have since graduated and have been absorbed by the company.

The technical training program combines theoretical learning with hands-on engineering experience and culminates in the City and Guilds of London Technicians’ Certification, significantly boosting the employability of the participants.

The content of the course is based on the syllabus of City and Guilds of London Technicians Examinations Certificates in Engineering, one of the world’s leading vocational education organizations.

Under the agreement between Nestle, the Nigerian authorities and the Swiss government, the top five graduating students from each batch undergo an additional three month internship in Switzerland, practicing their trade with the Group’s factories.

Nestle Needs YOUth initiative

Beyond the TTC, Nestlé Nigeria’s broader commitment to youth empowerment is embodied in its Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative. Launched in 2013, this initiative helps young people access economic opportunities through various programs, reaching an average of 25,000 youths annually. This has brought the total number of youths empowered through the YOUth initiative to over 250,000 within a 10 year period (2013 to 2023).

The initiative helps young people access economic opportunities through four pillars namely, employment, skills development, support and creating more opportunities.

Under this initiative, Nestle Nigeria partners with like minded organizations like Alliance for Youth Nigeria Initiative, Activate Success International, and Whitefield Foundation among others to drive human capacity development among the youths in its host communities.

At the global front, the Nestle Needs YOUth initiative, which Nestle Nigeria is part of, has reached over 5 million youths since 2017 when it commenced.

The program focuses on three distinct areas including entrepreneur (empowering youth innovators); employment and employability (helping young people find jobs) and Agripreneurship (inspiring the farmers of tomorrow).

Through the global program, 76,230 young entrepreneurs have received some basic but tangible benefit from Nestle, 8,464 young farmers were trained through the Nestle Agripreneurship Program in 2023, 7.72 million now have access to economic opportunities since 2017, while more than four million people have been impacted through digital events that focus on upskilling young people and making them more employable.

Also, 33,900 have benefited from various apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities.

We are creating shared value – Elhusseini, MD/CEO, Nestle Nigeria

Mr. Wassim Elhusseini, Managing Director/CEO, Nestlé Nigeria, speaking on the various initiatives, said that by being at the forefront of equipping the youths, the company creates shared value, as the success achieved by the beneficiaries extends beyond them, impacting their families, strengthening communities, and driving growth in the industry.

He stated that the company’s investment in young people is driven by the understanding that they are at the heart of regeneration and “our future”.

Speaking during one of the graduation ceremonies of the technical training students, Elhusseini said: “For over 13 years, our commitment to nurturing young talent has reflected our confidence in the future of this generation. This year alone (2024), we proudly graduated 70 skilled professionals across all our centers, including Agbara and Abaji, all of whom have now joined our team.

“For us, this program is more than just skills training; it’s about empowering young people to shape their futures and become catalysts for change.

“By equipping them with critical technical expertise, we are opening doors to personal growth and financial independence.

“By bridging the technical skills gap in the industry, we are not only enhancing the employability of our youths but also empowering them to achieve financial independence, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to their communities and society at large. This is one of the ways we are creating shared value.”

We’re cushioning impact of economic challenge – Lawal

Highlighting the significance of these efforts, Mr. Shakiru Lawal, the Country Human Resources Manager at Nestlé Nigeria, stated, “We are playing our part to cushion the impact of economic challenges on the youth and prepare them for the future.

“Some of these initiatives include our Nesternship Program, Nestlé Youth Development Program, and our active participation in the Alliance for Youth Nigeria initiative. In all, we reach over 25,000 youth annually.”

Recognition for impacts

Nestle Nigeria Plc has earned some recognition for its contributions and investment in the youths. Last year, the company won multiple awards, among were Nigerian Employers Consultative Association and Industrial Training Fund (NECA-ITF) Award for Organization with the Highest Number of Job Placements for Technical Trainees, Industrial Training Fund award for Best Contributing Employer in training activities for 2023 within the Isolo Area Jurisdiction and Lagos Public Relations Industry Gala and Awards (LAPRIGA) for Best Company in Corporate Social Responsibility (for its Creating Shared Value Initiatives).

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