Digital skills can reduce Nigeria’s unemployment rate estimated at 23.1 percent rate, experts say.
It has the capacity to keep young people busy, while providing them with an opportunity to earn a decent living, they say.
“The youth unemployment rate in Nigeria has steadily risen from an average of 12.3 percent in 2006 to 23.19 percent in 2018. Since almost half of Nigeria’s population lives in extreme poverty, this continuous increase in unemployment should be given more focus and response,” Zehra Talib-Emiko, interim executive director, United Way Greater Nigeria, said in Lagos.
“With this in mind, vocational education, particularly skills to employment, plays a critical role in alleviating the burden of unemployment and poverty,” Talib-Emiko further said.
In line with this, the United Way Greater Nigeria (UWGN) in partnership with eDigital Africa and VFD Group offered Nigerian youths a free social media marketing workshop on December 14.
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The social media marketing workshop was held to assist a portion of the unemployed Nigerian youths acquire relevant digital skills to help their transition into gainful employment and further increase their income earning potential.
The training partners, eDigital Africa, provided facilitators who demonstrated vast knowledge in social media marketing and content creation. During the workshop, eDigital facilitators supported the participants with lessons on social media best practices and hands-on practice sessions.
About 40 participants benefitted from the workshop where they were able to gain knowledge on the best practices of building an online presence, creating captivating written and visual content to help businesses stand out, including generating leads and learning techniques to effectively communicate with their target audience and the general public.
One of the core focus areas of United Way Greater Nigeria is financial stability. UWGN works to boost financial stability in Nigeria through vocational training for unemployed youths and young entrepreneurs. This allows Nigerian youths to attain their full potential translating into decent and honest living, the organisation said.
“This social media marketing workshop will provide the opportunity to equip Nigerians with skills for financial stability and consequently, stimulate economic growth,” Talib-Emiko added.
United Way Greater Nigeria is a non-profit organization that focuses on education, health and financial stability for all in Nigeria. It is the local partner of United Way Worldwide, an organisation that is over 100 years old, working in over 40 countries and 1800 communities worldwide.
