Sunday Okobi
Leaders and stakeholders across the private sector, government, civil society, and development organisations at the inaugural Partners’ Convening hosted by Jobberman Nigeria have called for a reflection on progress, shared insights, and co-created pathways that strengthen dignified and inclusive employment opportunities for young Nigerians as well as women.
With the theme: ‘From Impact to Action: Collectively Designing the Future of Youth Employment in Nigeria’, the call was made at the convening, which brought together ecosystem actors and high stakeholders at an event held over the weekend at the Eko Hotels in Lagos under the Young Africa Works strategy in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation.
Speaking at the event, the Group Chief Executive Officer, The African Talent Company (TATC), Jobberman’s Parent Company, Hilda Kabushenga, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to building scalable systems of opportunity for young people.
According to her, “Nigeria’s young people hold immense potential, but potential alone does not guarantee prosperity. What we have built through partnership is not just a programme, it is an ecosystem that connects skills, employers, innovation, and inclusion. Today is a reminder that when we work together, millions can access the dignity of work, and entire communities can be transformed.”
In his opening remarks, Head of Programmes Impact and Partnerships at TATC, Ahmed Alaga, emphasised the importance of collaboration.
He said: “Our journey has taught us that no single institution can solve youth unemployment. It takes collective ownership – from training partners to employers, government ministries, and local community networks. The impact we celebrate today is a shared achievement, and the work ahead requires even stronger cooperation.”
On the journey so far, and the most significant shift in how Jobberman and TATC have approached youth employment in Africa? Alaga said: “I think the most significant shift is understanding the requirements that support transitions for young people, not just in Nigeria but across Africa. And then being able to provide interventions that are able to address them. There are two sides to a coin: the supply side and the demand side.
“The supply side basically focuses on the gaps that young people actually have and how we can fill those gaps. Because many times with employers, young people who come fresh out of the universities do not have exactly what it takes to hit the ground running. So, we want to close that gap.”
Among the employers, the Head of Programmes, Impact and Partnerships at TATC, said many of them, even though they want to hire young people, initially realise there are certain risks involved.
“They are prone to either make mistakes because they lack experience or, most especially, that for many of the young people they want to hire, technical skill is always critical, and a major miss is the soft skills required. Lastly, we need to understand what the ecosystem will support, especially the kinds of young people that we focus on, and particularly women, PWDs, and IDPs.
“We also need to have that conversation with employers to understand the need to hire young people and women. And we have numerous reasons why they should. We have research that supports that.
“For instance, from our research, our gender-based survey shows that boards with more than 14 percent of women are most likely to be more profitable than boards that do not have women on them. So those instances get employers to begin to see the need to have more women on the board.
“Those are some of the things that we’ve seen, and we want to begin to amplify them so that we can have more young people transitioning to work,” he said.
While speaking to journalists on the success and challenges faced so far, Alaga said: “We’ve done so well for the past seven years. You know, they said the benefit of good work is more work. And we have taken on that challenge to spread our wings, to address all the unemployment challenges that, you know, marginalize young people and women across Africa.
“I think that since inception in Nigeria, we’ve trained roughly over three million people. And we’ve been able to place about 1.1 million young Nigerians, with an average of 69 percent being women. We also tend to keep a close tab on our participants from training to all the points where they get a job.”
Partners present at the convening echoed the value of a connected ecosystem approach. Representing one of the programme’s long-standing collaborators, Managing Partner, DOIT Services Business and Consulting Limited, Dr. Oluwatobi Awaye, noted: “Working with Jobberman has shown us what is possible when interventions go beyond skilling and prioritise real-world outcomes.
“We have seen young people transition into roles, launch businesses, and build confidence. This convening reinforces that sustainable impact comes from partnerships that listen, adapt, and innovate together.”
The highlight of the event was the testimony of programme alumni whose lives and career trajectories have been transformed.
One of Jobberman’s alumni, Iniobong Michael, who is the HR for Bon Agro Chemicals, Kano, told THISDAY exclusively that formerly, training at Jobberman was only online, “but now they have both physical and online trainings. Today, I can say that Jobberman is very innovative, efficient, and impactful. After their training, you won’t leave the same way you came in. Also, it is important to know that this convening will give them more drive to continue the good works they are doing.
“Also, people should not just be trained, they should be exposed even if it’s for the internship’s sake, and this internship should be granted beyond the training to improve the quality and experience of the training.”
Also, Hauwa Dahiru, another impact alum, shared her experience saying: “As a young woman with disability in Kano, I struggled to find dignified work until I walked into a Jobberman Job Centre and finally felt seen. Through their CV support, interview coaching, and guided placement, I was able to secure a job close to where I live. They did not see my disability; they saw my potential.”
Over the past six years, the Young Africa Works partnership has supported over 3.3 million young Nigerians with training, career development courses, and successfully placed over 1.1 million of them in dignified and fulfilling work, with a strong focus on women, persons with disabilities, and displaced persons.
The convening concluded with a call to action for partners to deepen collaboration, strengthen inclusion, and scale innovations that can accelerate employment outcomes for Nigeria’s growing youth population.