Young Advocates for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future (YASIF) Nigeria, International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) have trained 15,000 youths in green economies.

The Executive Director of YASIF Nigeria, Blessing Ewa, said in Abuja on Saturday that the programme would improve employability, job readiness, and participation in the digital and green economies.

Mrs Ewa said, “Through the SkillsBuild Phase of Reskilling Revolution Africa (RRA), YASIF Nigeria is scaling a proven model for youth skills development that is grounded in evidence from the pilot phase.

“The IBM SkillsBuild programme is a global skills development initiative designed to expand equitable access to digital, professional, and sustainability-related skills for young people and other underserved populations.

“In Africa, SkillsBuild is delivered through (RRA) initiative, implemented by IAVE in partnership with IBM and the African Union, and coordinated at country level through national civil society and volunteer partners.

“The programme provides structured, labour-market-relevant learning pathways through a digital platform that supports self-paced learning, measurable progress, and the awarding of internationally recognised IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials.”

Mrs Ewa said IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials was complemented by facilitation, mentoring, and localised learner support and currently being delivered across multiple countries, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, and Ethiopia, to maintain consistent quality standards.

“YASIF Nigeria is implementing the SkillsBuild Phase (Phase 2) of RRA initiative following the successful completion of the programme’s pilot phase, which demonstrated strong learner uptake, gender inclusion, and measurable skills outcomes in Nigeria.

“RRA initiative is implemented by IAVE in partnership with IBM SkillsBuild and the African Union, with Nigeria serving as a core implementation country. The RRA pilot phase, launched in October 2024, set out to engage 30,000 young Africans across Nigeria, Ethiopia, and South Africa.

“Nigeria exceeded its national pilot target by enrolling 12,061 unique learners on the IBM SkillsBuild platform, drawn largely from unemployed and underemployed youth, including students in tertiary and technical institutions,” Ewa stated.

The YASIF executive director expressed satisfaction with female participation which surpassed the minimum benchmark and contributed to an overall pilot outcome in which nearly 60 per cent of learners were women.

“Learners collectively recorded almost 93,000 learning hours and earned close to 2,000 internationally recognised IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials, establishing a strong performance baseline for programme scale-up across the three pilot countries.

“Building on these results, the SkillsBuild Phase expands both the scale and structure of programme delivery in Nigeria. Under Phase II YASIF Nigeria partnering with Emerging Communities and Little Gifted Hands Matter alongside other implementing partners, will coordinate the enrollment of 15,000 young Nigerians over a 12-month period, with at least 50 per cent female participation,” she added.

She noted that implementation would be in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Katsina, and Niger State, to ensure geographic spread and access for youths from diverse backgrounds.

“Learners will be onboarded in weekly cohorts through a blended learning model that combines IBM SkillsBuild’s online curriculum with in-person facilitation, coaching, aner support delivered through trained volunteers and facilitators,” Mrs Ewa said.

According to her, YASIF and its partners will be collaborating with various MDAs and the private sector to enable successful outcomes.

She said that the focus areas would be climate change and green economy, digital marketing, artificial intelligence, web development, project management, entrepreneurship, and sustainability-related skills.

“Programme performance is monitored through the SkillsBuild platform, with Nigeria targeting a minimum of 1,500 digital badges earned during Phase 2, representing at least 10 per cent of enrolled learners achieving platform-recognised credentials.

“In addition to skills training, YASIF Nigeria and partners are implementing a structured employability and alumni support framework designed to extend programme impact beyond course completion.

“This includes career guidance services such as Curriculum Vitae development and interview preparation, partnerships with employment and job-placement organisations, and entrepreneurship training and mentorship for participants pursuing self-employment,” Mrs Ewa said.

She said that volunteering remains a core component of the SkillsBuild Phase, and encouraged participants  to apply newly acquired skills through community-based activities, peer learning support, and volunteer-led initiatives. 

(NAN)