Underemployment—engaging graduates in low‑pay, insecure, or informal work—adds another layer of concern, compounded by data showing only 12.7% of workers in Q3 2023 held formal wage jobs. Finally, the NEET metric (youth not in employment, education, or training) reached 15.6% in 2023, highlighting a critical gap in active youth engagement.

These interwoven trends tell us that while headline unemployment rates declined, the quality of available opportunities remains low; many young graduates are either locked out of the formal job market or relegated to precarious subsistence roles.

Recently, Nigeria’s Minister of Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, announced a new programme to train youths in forex trading as part of a youth empowerment strategy. On the surface, it may seem appealing—a gateway to entrepreneurship or independent income. However, this approach raises significant concerns: for many participants, forex markets are volatile and high-risk, with the majority of inexperienced traders suffering losses.

Furthermore, the initiative offers little in terms of transferable skills—most participants won’t end up building tech, agribusiness, or vocational careers. Given that only a small fraction of graduates hold formal jobs, and many remain under‑ or unemployed, reliance on speculative trading offers, at best, a fragile, individualistic solution.

A more sustainable strategy emerged with the rollout of the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme in October 2023. Coordinated by the Ministry of Communications and NITDA, this initiative aspires to train three million Nigerians in digital and technical skills by 2027.

Phase 1 (Dec 2023–Mar 2024) trained 30,000 fellows—participants completed a hybrid learning model combining online modules and applied-learning sessions focused on areas like AI, software development, cybersecurity, and data analysis. Phase 2 launched in Feb 2024, aiming for 270,000 additional trainees in three cohorts. Evidence suggests strong demand: over 1.7 million applicants for Phase 1 alone.

On-the-ground results are encouraging. In Rivers state alone, more than 5,000 trainees completed their programmes by December 2024, with some securing international employment in AI and software development. Accredited learning centres like Steamledge have produced cohorts specialising in QA, cybersecurity, DevOps, and ML—a testament to the breadth and depth of training.

Yet, the programme isn’t without issues: dropout rates in regions like Katsina have been high, with only about 400 of 1,400 enrolled completing the course, largely due to low digital literacy and misconceptions among participants. Funding and logistics have also been cited as concerns. Despite setbacks, the programme reaches all 774 local governments and works with over 120 training providers.

While tech holds promise, agribusiness remains a powerful and inclusive employer, especially in rural Nigeria. The Ondo State Wealth Creation Agency (WECA) has pioneered Agro Business Cities since 2009, creating incubators and training centres across areas such as Ore, Epe, and Auga.

By 2014, WECA had engaged over 100,000 youths in aquaculture, livestock, arable farming, beekeeping, silk production, and palm plantations. Participants receive stipends and full support—land, accommodation, inputs—and learn across the agricultural value chain, eventually retaining profits from their products under the Profarmers & Agropreneurs Scheme. The African Development Bank praised WECA’s efforts in 2016, noting its success in promoting agribusiness entrepreneurship.

Similarly, EdoJobs, founded in 2016, took aim at Edo state’s 35% unemployment rate. Working under public–private partnerships and international linkages—with AWS, FirstBank, Interswitch, and GIZ among its collaborators—EdoJobs built innovation and agribusiness hubs, soap-making workshops, SME clusters, and career-kickstart schemes. By 2020, Edo had achieved the lowest unemployment rate in the South–South region, dropping to 19%. Such integrated, skills‑plus‑placement models underscore the power of regional tailoring.

Forex training may offer a quick fix for some, but Nigeria needs broad-based programmes that empower millions. Blending successful elements—tech training, agribusiness, public–private partnerships, and SME financing—can deliver sustained impact.

Key elements of this strategy include scaling 3MTT, which increases outreach in low‑literacy regions, reduces dropout rates, streamlines funding and device provision, and integrates placement pipelines with firms across sectors. Expanding the WECA model means replication of Agro Business Cities in other agrarian states like Benue, Oyo, and Abia to create regional hubs staffed with state-sponsored inputs, stipends, and market support.

The government should also reinforce PPP-backed SME funds, capitalising on EdoJobs’ lessons by blending state support with microfinance, mentorship, and incubation for youth tech and agribusiness start-ups. Strengthening internship/apprenticeship bridges helps pair technical training (3MTT and regional agri‑hubs) with guaranteed internships. It’s also vital to encourage the government to engage in targeted incentives for private-sector hiring. Offering tax credits or wage subsidies to employers in high-growth sectors (manufacturing, renewables, ICT) that hire youth graduates could incentivise growth and investment. This will counteract lackadaisical attitudes in human resources management and increase flexibility in giving chances to youths.

Nigeria’s youth face a challenging labour landscape characterised by episodic unemployment and underemployment among graduates. Minister Olawande’s forex‑training plan, while well-intentioned, falls short of addressing systemic issues in employment creation.

Instead, a proven combination of digital upskilling (as with 3MTT), agripreneurship (Ondo and Edo models), and public–private collaboration can form a powerful foundation. To be effective, these strategies must be fully funded, regionally tailored, and complemented by formal employment pathways. This kind of national, structural investment—not speculative training—can deliver lasting, widespread opportunities for Nigeria’s next generation.

Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of TheCable.