Executive Director, Junior Achievement of Nigeria (JAN), Foluso Gbadamosi, and Chairman of Channels Media Group, Dr John Momoh have called for enhanced entrepreneurship studies among the youths to curb unemployment in the country.
Gbadamosi spoke during the stakeholders’ Engagement Session organised by JAN with the theme, ‘Building thriving communities for young people,’ held virtually on Saturday.
She 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 the society.
Speaking on the importance of the theme, she said: “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.”
Enumerating the organisation’s achievement, Gbadamosi said JAN had embarked on life transformational programmes centred on four core pillars of entrepreneurship, work readiness, financial literacy and digital literacy, adding that the programmes were aimed at inspiring and empowering young people to succeed and become conscientious business leaders in a global economy.
“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 Programme in Nigeria, a programme that builds the entrepreneurial 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.
“In partnership with Mixta Africa, we implemented a webinar against bullying and bystanding. We also commenced the second phase of the implementation of the Google Career Certificate Program in partnership with Google.org where young people were equipped with skills in project management, UI/UX, Data Analytics and IT Support.
“On a global outlook, Junior Achievement Worldwide was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This is a testament to the amazing works we are doing not only in Nigeria but 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,” Gbadamosi said.
She commended partners and donors for their support and sustained partnership in repositioning and empowering young people to succeed in a global economy.
Chairman of Channels Media Group, Dr John Momoh, while delivering his keynote speech lauded the organisation’s initiative, saying it would serve as a great way to help stimulate thoughts and generate ideas that could enhance youth’s capacity for growth.
He said, “The Youth are not just the future of a nation, but an embodiment of a nation’s hope. They are the catalyst for change.
“Youths as drivers of transformation, have increasingly become significant elements in economic growth and have emerged as innovators, entrepreneurs, and captains of industry, with greater promises for tomorrow. They bear a lot of responsibility, and project possibilities for an improved system because of the many potentials in them hence the need to equip them with the required entrepreneurship skill became germane.”
He advocated for an enabling environment to groom and create opportunities for young Nigerians to gain expression and thrive and secure the future of the country.
He said: “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.”
SOurce: Guardian.ng
