Yemisi Izuora
The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) has entered into partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to provide support to its Employability Programme.
Under the partnership, the UNDP and LSETF have committed significant financial and technical resources for the Lagos State Employability Support Project between May 2017 and April 2019.
The partnership was commemorated with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lagos State Government (LASG) in January 2017 by the UNDP, which was facilitated by the LSETF. The MoU provides a framework of cooperation and strengthens the collaboration between LASG and UNDP in areas of common interest.
Commenting on the partnership, the Executive Secretary, LSETF, Mr. Akin Oyebode stated:“We are proud to have the UNDP as technical and financial partners to our employability programme which we have designed for the benefit of thousands of unemployed youths in Lagos State. It signposts confidence in our programmes and our ability to execute them transparently.
“With this support from UNDP, we have received the needed boost in the actualisation of the Fund’s Employability Programme, which will address the twin issues of capacity building for our youths as well as the provision of employment opportunities for them.
“Indeed, the LSETF’s Employability Programme seeks to change the current challenge of ‘non-availability of employable (skilled) workers to meet the Lagos state public/private sector demand. Through this partnership, UNDP and LSETF will expand employment opportunities for youths by upgrading the quality of teaching skills and the curriculum of technical colleges and vocational centers in line with the local demand needs: Provide training in relevant sectors for which skilled and employable youths meet local labour demand and ensure job matching and skilled promotion for trained beneficiaries. The project will improve the quality of vocational training programmes for the manufacturing, health care, construction, entertainment, tourism and hospitality sectors, upgrade training content to make the labour force technically more competent, strengthen vocational instructor training and improve the capabilities of the participating technical colleges and vocational training centers (VTCs) to plan and manage the training programmes”.
Also, commenting, the UNDP Country Director a.i. in Nigeria, Ms. Mandisa Mashologu notes that: ‘The UNDP/LSETF partnership on Employability Support will serve as a model to demonstrate how unemployment can be reduced by addressing key labour supply shortcomings through committed partnership between the public/private sectors and a development agency. This is in line with the Governments Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) as well as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project approach will benefit from UNDP’s global experience and expertise in youth employment programmes across the world’.
The Lagos State Employability Support Project will also address the intermediate barriers between the demand for skilled manpower and supply of the trained manpower by improving the labour market information system through job matching and promotion related activities. It is expected that through the project over 10,000 skilled manpower will be produced in a three-year period to cater for demand in key sectors. Also, 25 technical and vocational training centers in Lagos will have new vocational curriculum as well as improved teaching skills for technical instructors. The project targets unemployed and under employed youths with or without skills and aged 18 to 35 years with special consideration for women.