UNICEF's Joint Initiative To Empower Three Million Young Nigerian Professionals, Enterpreneurs

Some participants at the Future-X Campus Ambassadors Programme (FUCAP) on Thursday in Lagos 

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has commenced a joint initiative with Unilever Nigeria PLC, under the platform of Future-X Campus Ambassadors Programme (FUCAP) to empower three million young people with 21st-century skills as successful professionals and entrepreneurs.

Speaking at the event held on Thursday at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Auditorium Hall, Bharat Kundra, Programme Specialist at UNICEF Nigeria, said that the initiative is for young people to succeed in workplaces.

Kundra said that the objective is to expose Nigerian youths to 21st-century skills for them to transform society and establish themselves as professionals and entrepreneurs. 

The UNICEF Programme Specialist said program consist of four components including, career seminars, entrepreneurship skills course, work experience and youth challenges.

Already, 10 of the seminars have been conducted in different universities across the country, Kundra said. 

The seminars aim to reach three million Nigerian youths and equip 700,000 with essential skills.

According to Kundra, extensive global research and government collaborations are aimed at ensuring youths acquire essential skills for a secure future, such as communication, collaboration, critical thinking, digital and financial literacy, and resilience. 

"In spite of future challenges like technological changes, access to devices and the internet, climate issues, or pandemics, young people with 21st-century skills will thrive as successful professionals and entrepreneurs.

“Nigeria is the first country to benefit from this initiative. The programme focuses on four key areas: career seminars, entrepreneurship courses, work experience, and youth challenges.

Bharat Kundra, Programme Specialist, UNICEF Nigeria

"We aim to connect 700,000 young people in Nigeria to meaningful opportunities by 2026, and we have already established strong connections with universities to facilitate the transition into the workplace.

"UNICEF Works with trained volunteers to mentor others in acquiring these skills.  

"And the goal is to mentor 20 million youths by 2026, ensuring that FUCAP participants can meaningfully utilise their skills to build their careers and mentor others," he added. 

The UNICEF official, however, encouraged the youth comprising university undergraduates to be optimistic and proactive, leveraging the skills learned from such seminars to share ideas and lessons with a broader audience.  

On her part, Zainab Ajadi, People Partner at Unilever Nigeria and Lead Project Coordinator of the FUCAP seminar said that the entrepreneurship concept was targeted to groom future entrepreneurs and employers who are willing to take risks to grow their businesses.

Ajadi noted that the collaboration with UNICEF was to create awareness about the opportunities, equipping youths for the future and enabling them to lead purposeful lives. She mentioned that one of the challenges faced was changing youths' mindsets and helping them envision the future so they can adapt accordingly. 

In her remarks, Prof. Ayodele Atsenuwa, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Development Services) UNILAG said that the institution, through its entrepreneurship programmes, was developing opportunities and preparing students to have an edge in the workplace upon graduation. 

Atsenuwa urged the students to make maximum use of the FUCAP to prepare themselves for the blue economy. 

"You students of this great institution and our alumni are our pride." 

Mr Elijah Olubiyi, a 200-level student of the Faculty of Law, UNILAG, and a participant at the seminar, said the presentations had inspired and helped to direct his passion to the right side. 

Olubiyi, however, commended UNICEF and Unilever for putting up the seminar, which, according to him, has added more valuable knowledge to the student's choice of career. He described the programme as laudable and top-notch. 

Commenting, Zainab Ajadi, People Partner at Unilever Nigeria and Lead Project Coordinator of the FUCAP seminar said that the entrepreneurship concept was targeted to groom future entrepreneurs and employers who are willing to take risks to grow their businesses.

Meanwhile, some students of the University have taken turns to commend Unilever for the wonderful initiative which they said taught them a lot about self-confidence, self-esteem and the disadvantages of having an inferiority complex.

Some participants at the Future-X Campus Ambassadors Programme (FUCAP) on Thursday in Lagos 

Speaking to our correspondent, Balogun Abubakri, a part 2 student of the Department of Business Education, Elijah Eniola, a part three Law student and Obey Victoria, a part three student of Bio-Chemistry all lauded the company just as they charged their fellow students to take the programme seriously.

"We're excited about this programme because it taught us about opportunities we're going to look out for in life, how to develop self-esteem, build confidence and relate with people and what to expect in workplaces among other things. We look forward to the sustainability of the seminar, we appeal to our fellow students to embrace it because it will help in shaping their future career," they chorused.