Nigeria's youth are ready.

Are the skills?

A World Youth Skills Day reflection from The Nenis Foundation

Authors: Rukayyah Imam Faruk , Abdul-Muqtadir Zukaneni, Fatima Binta Adam, Levi Akor, Alicia Omoti

A World Youth Skills Day reflection from The Nenis Foundation

Every 15 July, the world marks World Youth Skills Day — a United Nations observance dedicated to equipping young people with the skills they need for work, entrepreneurship, and a fast-changing economy. This year's theme, “Skills for a shared future,” recognises a simple truth: in an age of AI and rapid change, young people need more than technical know-how alone.

For Nigeria — home to one of the world's largest youth populations — that message could not be more urgent. Our young people are ready. The real question is whether the skills, and access to them, are keeping pace.

Why this matters for Nigeria

Nigeria has over 45 million people aged 15 to 24 — a demographic advantage that, handled well, is an economic engine. Right now, too many are held back: roughly 78 percent of young Nigerians lack basic digital skills, and only 47 percent of teachers have the skills to teach them. Across the region, three in four young people lack secure employment.

Technology is moving faster than skills can keep up. Globally, 62 percent of young people already use AI tools, but only 30 percent have had any AI training. And weak financial skills leave young people exposed: the Central Bank of Nigeria reported a 45 percent rise in fraud in 2024, much of it targeting those least equipped to spot it.

What the evidence points to

The lesson behind this year's theme — and the wider evidence — is that skills work best when they start early, connect together, and fit local realities. The OECD finds that money skills should begin before adulthood, not after. Digital and AI skills matter most when paired with financial capability and the judgement to use technology safely. And global programmes only land when they are grounded in the realities of the communities they serve.

Yet too often, skills reach young people late — after university — and in silos, one thread at a time. Closing Nigeria's gap means meeting young people earlier, teaching these skills together, and building for the way they actually live and work.

Young people need more than technical skills. They need the confidence, judgement, and financial capability to put those skills to work.

How The Nenis Foundation is responding

The Nenis Foundation works to close this gap through three connected programmes. Each stands on its own, but together they help young people, women, and small businesses move from basic skills to real economic opportunity.

Digital and AI skills

Hands-on training in digital literacy, coding, web development, and everyday AI and digital tools — through workshops, online courses, and certifications — so young people can compete in the modern economy.

Financial literacy and entrepreneurship

Practical money and business skills — budgeting, financial planning, and enterprise growth — with mentorship that helps small businesses become sustainable and fundable.

Community empowerment and outreach

Workshops, community forums, and local partnerships that build communication, leadership, and teamwork, and bring digital tools and opportunities to underserved areas.

Across all three, our approach is the same: we design with communities, not just for them, grounding every programme in people's real lives so the skills actually stick.

Our impact so far

We believe in measurable, transformative change. Through our programmes we have already helped individuals and businesses take control of their futures:

6,300+ people reached with digital literacy

30+ small businesses backed with grants and mentorship

16+ community programmes and workshops delivered

Beyond the numbers, the change is personal: participants leave more confident using technology, better able to manage money and spot fraud, and better prepared to build businesses and pursue digital-economy careers. Because our model is simple and locally grounded, it can be repeated and scaled — school by school, community by community.

What should happen next

Skills for a shared future will not build themselves. This World Youth Skills Day, we invite others to act with us:

Funders and partners: invest in early, integrated skills programmes that reach young people before the gap widens.
Schools: open your classrooms to digital, AI, and financial-literacy learning that connects to real opportunity.
Communities: host and champion our workshops, and help us reach the young people who need them most.

Nigeria's young people are its greatest asset. On World Youth Skills Day, the call is simple: give every young Nigerian the skills — and the chance — to help shape a shared future. Partner with The Nenis Foundation to help us reach further.

A NOTE ON SOURCES

Key linked sources: UNESCO (World Youth Skills Day), ILO, Central Bank of Nigeria.

Google Sites

Report abuse