To advance youth employability systems and promote professional standards in youth development, the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta (PIND) participated in the National Workshop on the Professionalization of Youth Work in Nigeria, held from June 24–26, 2025, in Abuja.
Organized by the Federal Ministry of Youth Development in collaboration with the University of Abuja and the Commonwealth Secretariat’s Youth Division, the three-day workshop brought together key stakeholders, including government officials, academia, civil society and development partners, to chart a national roadmap for formalizing the youth development sector.
Advancing Youth Workforce Development in Nigeria
With youth unemployment remaining a pressing challenge in Nigeria, the professionalization of youth work is vital to equipping young people with relevant skills, access to resources, and supportive systems.
PIND shared lessons from its Youth Employment Pathways (YEP) project—an evidence-based initiative that prepares youth in the Niger Delta with market-relevant skills, career training, and pathways to employment and entrepreneurship.Representing PIND’s Executive Director, Mr. Chuks Ofulue, PIND’s Advocacy Manager contributed to a high-level panel titled: The Pathway to Youth Work Professionalization in Nigeria: Views from Civil Society. He emphasized the importance of structured, data-driven programming aligned with labor market demands.
Also speaking was Mr. Patrick Ekpe, PIND’s Youth Employment Pathways Manager, who joined a youth-focused session titled: Empowering a Digital Generation: Aligning AI, Social Media, and Science & Tech with Professional Youth Development Work Practice –Views from the Youth. He spotlighted YEP’s impact since 2018—equipping thousands of youth in the Niger Delta with technical and entrepreneurship skills, mentorship, and access to real-world opportunities. He highlighted the model’s success in demonstrating how locally driven and scalable interventions can create meaningful, long-term employment pathways for youth across the region and beyond.
Building a Stronger Ecosystem for Youth Development
The workshop marked a milestone in Nigeria’s youth development landscape, highlighting the need for a robust, professionalized system that empowers both youth and the practitioners who support them.
A major highlight was the launch of postgraduate diplomas, master’s, and PhD programs in Youth Development Work at the University of Abuja, a step toward institutionalizing youth work as a formal profession.
Key Outcomes and Strategic Takeaways
The workshop yielded several action points for advancing youth development in Nigeria. These include:
- Launch of new postgraduate programs in Youth Development Work
- Renewed drive toward national certification and regulatory framework for youth workers
- Stronger alignment on ethical, inclusive, and professional standards for youth development
- Enhanced collaboration between practitioners and academic institutions
Looking Ahead
PIND is committed to sustaining the momentum from this workshop by deepening its partnerships with government, academia, and development actors. Through evidence-based programming and collaborative systems strengthening, PIND continues to support inclusive, resilient, and scalable youth development across the Niger Delta and beyond.
Learn more about PIND’s youth development efforts: https://pindfoundation.org/project/youth-employment-pathways
