Young Advocates for a Sustainable and Inclusive Future (YASIF) Nigeria, International Association for Volunteer Effort (IAVE) and the International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) have trained 15,000 youths on green economies as part of a skills development drive.
Mrs Blessing Ewa, the Executive Director of YASIF Nigeria, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Saturday, saying the programme was designed to improve employability, job readiness and youth participation in the digital and green economies.
She said the intervention was delivered through the SkillsBuild Phase of the Reskilling Revolution Africa (RRA) initiative, which YASIF Nigeria is implementing to scale a tested model for youth skills development based on evidence from an earlier pilot phase.
“Through the SkillsBuild Phase of Reskilling Revolution Africa (RRA), YASIF Nigeria is scaling a proven model for youth skills development that is grounded in evidence from the pilot phase,” Ewa said.
She explained that the IBM SkillsBuild programme is a global skills development initiative created to expand equitable access to digital, professional and sustainability-related skills for young people and other underserved populations.
According to her, in Africa, SkillsBuild is delivered through the RRA initiative, implemented by IAVE in partnership with IBM and the African Union, and coordinated at country level through national civil society partners.
“The programme provides structured, labour-market-relevant learning pathways through a digital platform that supports self-paced learning, measurable progress, and the awarding of internationally recognised IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials,” she said.
Ewa added that the credentials are complemented by facilitation, mentoring and localised learner support, and are delivered across countries including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia to maintain quality standards.
She said YASIF Nigeria is implementing the SkillsBuild Phase, also known as Phase 2 of the RRA initiative, following the successful completion of the programme’s pilot phase, which recorded strong learner uptake, gender inclusion and measurable skills outcomes.
She explained that the RRA pilot phase, launched in October 2024, set out to engage 30,000 young Africans across Nigeria, Ethiopia and South Africa.
“Nigeria exceeded its national pilot target by enrolling 12,061 unique learners on the IBM SkillsBuild platform, drawn largely from unemployed and underemployed youth, including students in tertiary and technical institutions,” Ewa said.
The YASIF executive director expressed satisfaction with female participation, noting that it surpassed the minimum benchmark and contributed to an outcome in which nearly 60 per cent of learners were women.
She said learners collectively recorded almost 93,000 learning hours and earned close to 2,000 internationally recognised IBM SkillsBuild digital credentials, establishing a performance baseline for programme scale-up.
“Building on these results, the SkillsBuild Phase expands both the scale and structure of programme delivery in Nigeria,” Ewa said.
She disclosed that under Phase II, YASIF Nigeria, partnering with Emerging Communities and Little Gifted Hands Matter alongside other partners, will coordinate the enrolment of 15,000 young Nigerians over a 12-month period, with at least 50 per cent female participation.
According to her, implementation will take place in Abuja, Lagos, Kaduna, Katsina and Niger State.
“Learners will be onboarded in weekly cohorts through a blended learning model that combines IBM SkillsBuild’s online curriculum with in-person facilitation, coaching and peer support delivered through trained volunteers and facilitators,” Ewa said.
She said YASIF and its partners would collaborate with various MDAs and the private sector.
Ewa said the focus areas include climate change and green economy, digital marketing, artificial intelligence, web development, project management, entrepreneurship and sustainability-related skills.
“Programme performance is monitored through the SkillsBuild platform, with Nigeria targeting a minimum of 1,500 digital badges earned during Phase 2, representing at least 10 per cent of enrolled learners achieving platform-recognised credentials,” she said.
She said that beyond skills training, YASIF Nigeria and partners are implementing an employability and alumni support framework.
“This includes career guidance such as Curriculum Vitae development and interview preparation, partnerships with job-placement organisations, and entrepreneurship training and mentorship,” Ewa said.
She added that volunteering remains a core component of the SkillsBuild Phase, with participants encouraged to apply skills through community-based activities nationwide programme rollout.
