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The National Youth Service Corps has said it trained over 1.39 million Nigerian graduates in various vocational skills between 2019 and 2025 under its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme.
The Director-General of the scheme, Olakunle Nafiu, disclosed this on Thursday while addressing participants of Senior Executive Course 48, 2026, of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, during a study tour to the NYSC Directorate Headquarters.
Nafiu stated that a total of 1,391,119 corps members benefited from the Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development initiative within the period under review, stressing that the programme remains a critical tool in addressing youth unemployment in the country.
He explained that the SAED programme was introduced in 2012 to fulfil one of the core mandates of the scheme, which is to equip Nigerian youths with practical skills that promote self-reliance and entrepreneurship.
According to him, the initiative has become increasingly relevant due to the decline in availability of white-collar jobs, noting that graduates must now embrace vocational skills to remain economically viable.
He said, “At the time the NYSC was established, jobs were readily available, and organisations competed for the few graduates produced by tertiary institutions. Today, such opportunities are limited.
“Fortunately, the NYSC Act mandates us to empower corps members with entrepreneurial skills, making them not only self-reliant but also employers of labour.”
The NYSC boss commended various government agencies and private organisations partnering with the scheme to implement the programme through technical support and funding, including the provision of soft loans, grants and start-up kits to corps entrepreneurs.
He also appealed to the institute to support advocacy for the establishment of the NYSC Trust Fund, noting that the bill has been passed by the National Assembly and is awaiting presidential assent.
Nafiu expressed optimism that the proposed trust fund would significantly enhance the scheme’s capacity to provide start-up capital for corps members who undergo SAED training.
“With the Trust Fund, we will be able to give every corps member that passes through SAED adequate capital to start their businesses at the end of the service year,” he added.
To complement the presentation, participants were shown a documentary featuring success stories of beneficiaries of the programme who have established thriving businesses.
In his remarks, the Director-General of NIPSS, Ayo Omotayo, commended the NYSC for its contributions to reducing unemployment through youth empowerment initiatives.
Omotayo said the study tour was guided by the theme, “Economic Diversification and National Development: Leveraging Orange Economy and Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Growth and Development.”
He noted that the findings from the tour would form part of a policy recommendation to the Federal Government on strategies to tackle unemployment.
“We deliberately selected NYSC for this study, having closely followed your efforts in youth empowerment,” he said.
He added that the institute would recommend measures to strengthen the scheme’s capacity to deliver on its mandate.
