EU Announces N21bn Fund for Graduate Employment Scheme in Nigeria

The European Union (EU) on Monday announced funding of €44 million (N21billion) for the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP) aimed at employing graduates who recently concluded the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Executive Vice-President of the EU, Margrethe Vestager, who is currently on a working visit to Nigeria, made the announcement during an Investment Round Table on NJFP, in Abuja.

Speaking at the event, Vestager said the EU’s intervention in the scheme, which would be contracted to the United Nations Development Project (UNDP), “is the first concrete commitment that EU is making in support of youth as part of our new multiannual programme with Nigeria.”

She said the programme would provide an opportunity for mentors who were already engaged in various industries, gained relevant experience and built capacity over the years to provide mentorship and support for young Nigerians.

According to the vice president: “Our objective in this programme is to support the creation of new green and smart jobs, such as tech and innovation, research and development, social, telecom, agriculture and green economy, for young graduates, including women and groups living in vulnerable situations. These are exactly the types of jobs we wish to promote under the Global Gateway Initiative.”

Speaking further, Vestager explained that the jubilee programme would provide a pathway for young Nigerians to gain work experience in top tier organisations, gaining relevant skills and building the right networks for the future in various sectors including information and communications technology, financial services, trade, manufacturing, agriculture and agro-processing.

“Other sectors include mining, telecommunications, creative industries and technology, education, health, research and development, and public sector institutions.

“We believe that building the right skills and experiences across these sectors are important to sustain the economic growth we are experiencing.’’

Vestager expressed satisfaction that EU companies in Nigeria were already participating in the programme, even as she called on fellow development partners and the private sector to make the programme a success.

“The participation of EU companies shows the mutual benefits that the collaboration between the EU and EU companies can bring to economic development of Nigeria,” she said.

The EU vice president said the NJFP would build on other efforts of the EU to support young Nigerians such as its flagship programme, Erasmus which enables exchanges of students from Nigeria to EU countries, noting that between 2019 and 2021, 270 students from Nigeria have received scholarships to study in Europe.

Fellows registered under the programme would receive a monthly stipend of N100,000.00 paid fully by the NJFP.

Eromosele Abiodun

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