Youth Employability Skills (YES)
KIR FOUNDATION YES PROJECT PREPARING YOUTH FOR THE WORKPLACE
“I recently quit my job because I did not have the relevant Tech skills. This opportunity came at the
right time for me. I thank OctaFX because now I have the relevant skills to go back to work.”
-Rejoice Benson (UI/UX Design YES Alumni)
-Rejoice Benson (UI/UX Design YES Alumni)
The Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics estimates that 33.3% of youth in Nigeria are unemployed,
while 21.0% are under-employed. According to the 2022 ILO report notes;
“ A lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, threatens to compromise a person’s future employment prospects and frequently leads to unsuitable labour behaviour patterns that last a lifetime. There is a demonstrated link between youth unemployment and social exclusion. An inability to find employment creates a sense of uselessness and idleness among young people that can lead to increased crime, mental health problems, violence, conflicts and drug taking.”
“ A lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, threatens to compromise a person’s future employment prospects and frequently leads to unsuitable labour behaviour patterns that last a lifetime. There is a demonstrated link between youth unemployment and social exclusion. An inability to find employment creates a sense of uselessness and idleness among young people that can lead to increased crime, mental health problems, violence, conflicts and drug taking.”
That is why Keeping It Real (KIR) Youth Employability Skills (YES) Project is focused on preparing out-of-school youth with and without disabilities for the workplace by equipping them with the following market-relevant skills; Digital, Vocational and Soft/Life skills. We got a sponsorship from OctaFX to run the YES 6.0 project which was aimed at training 50 youth with and without disabilities (35 Males, 15 Females, 9 males and 3 females with disabilities) on Web Development (Front End and Back End), Graphic Design (UI/UX) Cyber Security and Database Administration and Photography and Cinematography.
The purpose of this project is aimed at strengthening the ICT ecosystem in the Niger Delta by
providing youth with training in market-relevant skills that will enable them to obtain jobs in ICT
and related sectors.
Feedback from our YES Alumni
I wanted to change my career path to Cyber security, but after, doing some online courses, I was not getting what I wanted. I desired a physical class but did not know any reputable organization that offered training in that field. After much research, I came across an ICT Training Hub in Port Harcourt, managed by Rivers State ICT department. When I finally got a placement, money became a challenge However, through the Keeping It Real (KIR) Foundation, Youth Employability Skills (YES) Project 6.0 sponsored by OctaFX, I got a scholarship! A year after the training, I am now a Cyber security Instructor! Thank you OctaFX and KIR Foundation for making my dream come true!
