By Dwelleth Morountodun
The National Centre for Technology Management (NACETEM), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation and the Centre for Gender and Social Policy Studies (CGSPS): a research institute of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in collaboration with the International Development Research Centre(IDRC), Canada and National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) are set to present the outcomes of a robust research collaboration.
The research, tagged: ‘Design and Impact of an Apprenticeship Based Entrepreneurship Intervention in Nigeria, aimed at generating evidence in guiding policy and practice towards boosting decent youth employment in Nigeria (Africa), using NYSC’s skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme as a case study.
Mr. Isaac Oluyi, PRO, NACETEM, informed the media that youth unemployment remains one of Nigeria’s biggest challenges despite the latent potential for socio-economic growth that the country holds.
To this end, there have been various attempts by individuals, private and public institutions to proffer a lasting solution to the menace. One of such is the National Youth Service Corps’ Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, he added.
Still on the outcome of the research for national development, he said: “In order to strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities among young graduates in Nigeria, the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), introduced a hands-on entrepreneurship intervention known as Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) in 2012.
“This intervention targets fresh university graduates who are undergoing the mandatory one-year national service under the NYSC scheme.”
The programme, according to the Spokesman, is designed to foster an apprenticeship-based hands-on entrepreneurship training for young educated Nigerians, as well as to overcome some of the limitations of previous interventions, including limited reach, impractical curricula and poor collaboration and cooperation amongst sectors.
He said: “By reason of the sheer size of Nigeria, the SAED initiative is arguably the largest apprenticeship-based intervention programme in sub-Saharan Africa. Currently, all claims to impact by the SAED initiative are anecdotal and almost entirely without empirical evidence.
“After 10 years of its operation, the SAED programme deserves a systematic assessment and evaluation to reveal the extent of its effectiveness and determine what needs be added or changed in its design for better effectiveness.
“It is in view of the above that this project ‘Design and Impact of an Apprenticeship Based Entrepreneurship Intervention in Nigeria’, is embarked upon to rigorously evaluate the impact of the initiative. This is in fact the first of its kind since the inception of the programme.
“With the conclusion of the impact assessment, the two centres (NACETEM and CGSPS) are set to unveil the outcomes of the their research to the public on Thursday, 18th August, 2022 at Rockview Royale Hotel, Abuja by 10am and hereby invite relevant stakeholders to be a part of this momentous workshop.” He added.
Partners expected at this epoch-making event include NYSC SAED, The Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Bank of Industry, Bank of Agriculture, SMEDAN, NUC, The Leventis Foundation, IDRC, UNIDO and other stakeholders who work in the youth employment and entrepreneurial space.