NACCIMA Seeks NDE Partnership to Turn Youth Skills into Businesses, Industries
Oru Leonard
The Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) has called for a strategic partnership with the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) to transform youth skills acquisition into sustainable businesses and cottage industries across Nigeria.
The call was made by NACCIMA’s National Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Madinat Adigun-Oladotun, during a courtesy visit to the Director-General of the NDE, His Excellency Silas Agara, on Friday.
Adigun-Oladotun, who was accompanied by the Managing Director of Qahhar Engineering and Consult Ltd, Engr. Idayat Yusuf, said stronger collaboration between the organised private sector and government institutions was necessary to create meaningful economic opportunities for Nigeria’s growing youth population.
She identified youth entrepreneurship, vocational and technical skills development, digital innovation, enterprise incubation and industrialisation as key areas requiring greater attention if Nigeria is to unlock the economic potential of its young population.
According to her, NACCIMA, under the leadership of its National President, Engr. Jani Ibrahim, FNSE, FAEng, FCIoD, OON, mni, is committed to developing the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs, business leaders and industrialists.
She highlighted the NACCIMA Youth Entrepreneurs (NYE) platform as one of the Association’s initiatives aimed at promoting youth participation in enterprise development.
The NACCIMA PRO urged the NDE to establish a structured partnership with NACCIMA covering entrepreneurship training, vocational and technical skills acquisition, digital innovation, mentorship, enterprise incubation, access to markets and business financing.
She, however, stressed that skills acquisition programmes would have limited long-term impact if beneficiaries were not provided with the infrastructure and opportunities required to commercialise their skills.
“Training people and issuing certificates should not be the end of empowerment programmes. We must create the ecosystem that enables those skills to become productive enterprises,” she said.
Adigun-Oladotun specifically proposed a collaborative framework involving NACCIMA, the NDE, state governments and private-sector investors for the establishment of Cottage Industrial Parks across the country.
She explained that the proposed parks would provide shared production facilities, machinery, infrastructure, utilities and business-support services to enable trained artisans, technicians and young entrepreneurs to commence production and scale their businesses.
According to her, the initiative would create a practical bridge between skills acquisition and industrial production while helping to reduce unemployment and stimulate grassroots economic development.
“By working together with the NDE, State Governments and credible private-sector investors, we can establish Cottage Industrial Parks where trained Nigerians can have access to shared machinery, production infrastructure, markets and business support.
“This will help transform skills into businesses, businesses into industries, and ultimately contribute to employment creation and national industrialisation,” she stated.
She commended the NDE for its programmes aimed at promoting employment, self-reliance and economic empowerment, saying closer engagement with the organised private sector could further improve the sustainability and economic impact of such initiatives.
Responding, the NDE Director-General, H.E. Silas Agara, held discussions with the delegation on areas of mutual interest and highlighted the mandate, programmes and achievements of the Directorate under his leadership.
The meeting also examined opportunities for enhanced public-private sector cooperation in youth empowerment, entrepreneurship development, vocational training and the creation of sustainable pathways linking skills acquisition with productive enterprise.
The proposed collaboration is expected to provide a stronger platform for converting Nigeria’s large pool of trained young people into entrepreneurs, manufacturers and employers of labour, while supporting grassroots industrialisation and inclusive economic growth.
The visit reaffirmed the shared commitment of NACCIMA and the NDE to strengthening human capital development, expanding employment opportunities and creating an enabling environment for young Nigerians to contribute meaningfully to national economic development.
