The Federal Government has launched the iDICE Skills-to-Jobs Initiative, targeting 300,000 young Nigerians for training and direct linkage to employment opportunities in the digital and creative economy.
The initiative, described as the largest government-anchored digital skills-to-employment program in Nigeria’s history, is being rolled out simultaneously across the country’s six geopolitical zones.
The program is part of the $617.7 million Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Program, financed by the Federal Government in partnership with the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The Bank of Industry (BOI) is serving as a co-financier and executing agency.
Six implementing partners have been competitively selected, with each responsible for a geopolitical zone, to train beneficiaries and facilitate their transition into jobs within Nigeria’s expanding digital and creative sectors as well as the global outsourcing market.
The program aims to achieve an employment linkage rate of at least 80 per cent, potentially connecting a minimum of 240,000 trained beneficiaries to job opportunities after completing their training.
Participants, aged between 15 and 35, will undergo training across basic, intermediate and advanced levels designed to progressively develop job-ready digital competencies.
Training will combine online learning with physical sessions to improve access for young people in both urban and rural communities across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The initiative also places emphasis on inclusion, with at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries expected to be women, while a minimum of five per cent will comprise persons living with disabilities and young people who are not in employment, education or training (NEET).
Beneficiary selection will be conducted through a structured and transparent screening process by the implementing partners under the supervision of the Bank of Industry.
Vice President Kashim Shettima described the initiative as a practical demonstration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, saying it would bridge the gap between digital skills acquisition and employment.
“We are not training young Nigerians and leaving them to find their own way.
“We are building the bridge from skills to employment, connecting 300,000 of our brightest young people to digital and creative jobs that the 21st century global economy demands,” Shettima said.
He added that Nigeria had the talent required to compete in the global digital economy and that the program would provide young Nigerians with a pathway to productive employment.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, Dr Olasupo Olusi, said the Skills-to-Jobs component was central to the economic transformation objectives of the iDICE Program.
According to him, the initiative would create a structured pipeline of digitally skilled and job-ready young Nigerians while supporting BOI’s mandate of facilitating economic growth and sustainable employment.
Olusi said the scale of the program, covering 300,000 beneficiaries across the six geopolitical zones, reflected the level of ambition required to expand opportunities for Nigeria’s growing youth population.
