Over 3,400 youths in Lagos have been trained and certified in different vocational skills under the employability support project being implemented by UNDP and the Lagos State Government through Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF). Almost half of those certified are females.  

The project, now its third year of implementation, has undertaken training activities targeted at youths in Lagos State in market-demanded skills in sectors like construction, manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, finance and tailoring.

The Project seeks to address the State’s current challenge of ‘non-availability’ of employable (skilled) workers to meet public and private sector demand.  To achieve this, the project has engaged several vocational skills training centres and developed industry-tailored courses for the youths in the State. Over 300 companies have registered with the project as potential employers.

Unemployment in Nigeria remains a huge burden for the government standing at 23% by the end of 2018 – majority of the unemployed are youths. Lagos is Nigeria’s richest State by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) with a labour force of over 7 million and underemployment at 12.4% by the third quarter of 2018.

Since inception, over 1,100 trainees have been recruited by different companies are now in gainful employment. Close to 500 have opted to start their own businesses and are now employing others.

The project has made it easier for companies to find reliable labour as registered employers can now access a pool of trained employees including; Spa Assistants, Digital Marketing Associates, Front Office Assistants, Sewing Machine Operators, Electricians and Air Conditioning Technicians, Sales & Retail Associates, Plumbers, Formwork Carpenters, Pattern Cutters, Caregivers, among others - readily available for placement within 48 hours. All the information is available through a verified employee database, the Labour Management Information System (LMIS), developed by the project.

Through this project, UNDP and LSETF have helped expand employment opportunities for people in Lagos at the same time strengthened human capital potential of the youths in the country. The project has also facilitated implementation of improvements to the standards of vocational training centres through upgrading of the teaching skills of centre instructors.