The Bauchi State Government in collaboration with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) inaugurated the Girls Employability and Skills Partnership (GESP) programme to empower youth and eradicate poverty.
Dr Tusshar Rane, the UNICEF Chief of Field Office, Bauchi, stated this at a one-day State Level Consultation meeting of the programme in Bauchi.
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He said that UNICEF with funding of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in the United Kingdom and the Standard Chartered Bank would support the improvement of employability and skills development of adolescents in Nigeria from ages 10 to 24.
Rane said the GESP programme which would run from 2013 to 2030, was being implemented in four pilot states across the country.
According to him, the programme will utilise the Nigerian Learning Passport (NLP), to facilitate skills development and transition from school to work in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Education and the State Governments.
The programme, he said, targeted formal and informal sectors to empower youth and women, to enable them to learn trades and become self-reliant.
“The initiative is expected to positively impact the country’s future job growth enabling programme between 2021 and 2030”.
Also, Mukhtar Ibrahim, who spoke in a presentation, said the programme targetted 13,000 adolescents in Bauchi State.
He said the programme was designed to improve digital skills and encourage entrepreneurship development of the youth to eradicate poverty and enhance wealth creation in the society.
“It is In line with the Federal Government’s economic agenda.
“It engaged multilateral agencies and the private sector in creating special opportunities for young Nigerians,” he said.
Earlier, the UNICEF Education Specialist, Mr S Abdulrahman said the meeting was designed to sensitise the participants on the GESP initiative.
He said that the participants would also develop a framework as well as tracking and monitoring strategy to facilitate successful implementation of the programme in the state.
About 50 participants drawn from State Ministry of Education, education authorities, Civil Society Organisations, development organisations and the media attended the meeting.
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