One of the reasons responsible for the high rate of graduate unemployment in Nigeria is lack of requisite skills to meet the job requirements of employers. In recognition of the need to improve the employability skills of Nigerian youth launched the Employability Programme in 2008. The Employability Programme provides life, employability and personal development training and basic ICT skills to disadvantaged youth between the ages of 16 and 35 years in Nigeria. A four-day programme where these unemployed graduates are engaged in interactive sessions, cases and activities that will empower them for the work place. These participants benefits from life coaching and are empowered and equipped with leadership skills.

The objectives of the employability programme are to:
  • Prepare youths for the work place by equipping them with life and employability skills.
  • Provide youth with crucial work based experiences within a youth development approach.
  • Provide youth with an employment experience that puts them in touch with real life labour expectations and practices.
  • Provide youth with career counselling as well as, information about support networks and various employment opportunities which may be paid.

In addition to the training, the programme also seeks to place beneficiaries in jobs. These include paid employment, as well as volunteer and internship positions.

Through the programme, LEAP has equipped 2487 youth and with the help of its implementing partners and has placed a total of one hundred and seventy-two (172) persons on jobs; one hundred and eleven (111) on paid jobs, forty-one (41) on internships and twenty (20) on volunteer positions. In addition to these statistics, three (3) participants initiated social change in their respective communities and two (2) have started up their businesses after the programme.

On this programme, LEAP has collaborated organizations such as United States Government, The International Youth Foundation and Microsoft and impacted youth living in Bauchi, Cross Rivers, Lagos and Kano States.

In 2011 and 2012, LEAP revamped the Employability Progamme to continue address the unemployability issues facing our youth and is being sponsored by JP Morgan Chase and Co.

For further information on the Employability Programme, please contact Asuquo Asuquo via email @aasuquo@leapafrica.org or you can call 234 1 2706541/2.

Annual Nigerian Youth Leadership Awards
Employability Programme
Integrity Institute
Leadership, Ethics and Civics
Youth Leadership Programme