Youth Empowerment: Education and Vocational Training
The administration from inception in 2011, targeted the educational sector by expanding access to all levels of education, as well as raising the quality of education. There was also a need for massive overhauling of Technical and Vocational Skills Education to ensure skills acquisition and encourage entrepreneurial minded people set up businesses and employs others.

Other programmes include Revitalization of Adult and Youth Literacy, Improving Access through Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Improving Access to Higher Education through New Universities, Encouraging Private Sector Participation in Tertiary Education, Expanding opportunities for open and distance learning, Scholarships.

Under the amnesty programmes, thousands of youths in the Niger Delta have been given scholarships.

Youth Employment: Agriculture
The government recently launched a self-employment initiative under the Youth Employment in Agriculture Programme (YEAP) called the Nagropreneur programme. This scheme, designed to encourage youth to go into commercial agriculture as entrepreneurs, plans to develop over 750,000 young Nagropreneurs by 2015.

Over 250,000 farmers and youths in Northern states now profitably engaged in farming.

Youth Empowerment: Job Creation [SURE-P]
There has been key government programmes focusing on direct job creation including Community Service Scheme (SURE-P) aimed at engaging 320,000 youths in labour intensive work such as construction and rehabilitation of social and economic infrastructure. This has seen about 120,000 employed so far. Another offshoot of the SURE-P is the Graduate Internship Scheme (SURE-P) that aims to attach 50,000 graduates to competent firms to enhance skills development towards employability. 4,000 graduates have been matched so far. Moreover, YOUWIN- Business Plan Competition has successfully run two of its three cycles and is now in its third cycle with 2400 winners selected and 26,000 jobs directly created in different sectors of the economy. At least 80,000 jobs are expected by 2015

Introduction of the FERMA-SURE P Public works Programme, engaging and training over 6,000 Nigerian youths on road maintenance works thereby creating a social safety net and Road ownership attitude with abutting communities.

The SURE-P Public Works Programme, managed by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), creates temporary direct-labour jobs for Nigeria’s unemployed youths. The Programme is a set of short-term projects targeting both unskilled and low skilled persons for employment in labour-intensive activities aimed at improving the infrastructure stock in the communities where the projects are undertaken.

Youth Empowerment: Job Creation [CSWYE Programme]
The Community Service, Women and Youth Employment Programme (CSWYE) creates short-term work programmes for vulnerable populations including underprivileged women, youth and people living with disabilities through labour intensive public works projects. Programme beneficiaries are employed in community development services such as cleaning the drains, assisting in traffic control, etc. The programme aims to create 370,000 jobs annually, with a minimum of 30 percent of the spaces reserved for women. SURE-P records show that the scheme has so far created about 119,000 jobs across the country, of which about 41,137 are women.

Youth Empowerment: Job Creation [ICT]
The government of President Jonathan with the aim of creating jobs through the Ministry of Communication Technology created a number of programmes to promote entrepreneurship in information and communication technology (ICT) and to leverage ICT to match Nigerians with available short-term, freelancing projects in the public and private sectors.

iDEA is focused on identifying young Nigerians talented in software coding and supporting them to start ICT companies. These talents are identified through ‘Hackathons’ – software code writing competitions - where they showcase their skills.

The Ministry is focused on creating an ecosystem that will result in the creation of companies and not just codes. The iDEA centres identify the best talents and match them with industry innovation hubs that provide a platform for the talents to develop their solutions, be mentored, and learn business/managerial skills.

They are matched with angel investors as well as private equity and venture capital firms. The programme, which commenced in 2012, is in its third round with about 20 companies that have been formed to date. This represents a US$100 million per annum investment opportunity with hundreds of jobs in the primary companies and a lot more in the support industries.

Youth Empowerment: Job Creation [NAPEC]
National Action Plan on Employment Creation (NAPEC) is a job creation programme coordinated by the Ministry of Labour and Productivity which focuses the policies, programmes and projects in 11 key sectors of the economy on job creation for Nigerians.

It is expected that the Action Plan will generate over 10 million jobs in critical sectors of the economy. The NAPEC initiative mandates that all contracts signed by the Federal Executive Council stipulate the number of jobs that will be created for Nigerians in the course of executing the project. In addition, all contracts with foreign companies must include a knowledge transfer component that ensures ongoing maintenance of the project by Nigerians. From 2011 to 2013, local content programmes have created a total of about 198,000 jobs across the country.

Youth Empowerment: Job Creation [NAPEP]
Through various schemes under the National Poverty Eradication Programme
(NAPEP) between June 2011 and April 2013, over 80,000 jobs were created and 143,765 youths trained in different skills. These results were achieved through the following NAPEP programmes: Gender Focus Initiatives, The Villiages Solution, Micro Credit Initiative, Enterprise Promotion and support.

The government has launched a Youth Entrepreneurship Strategy; a coalition of fed govt agencies and private organisations to provide funding and empowerment to youth and women entrepreneurs. This initiative will kick off in February, 2015.

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