By Ngozi Nwankwo
World Bank has indicated interest to partner with the National Youth Service Corps.
The move was to reduce the increasing number of unemployed youths in the country.
World Bank said the Scheme’s achievements over the past fifty-one years, through the deployment of graduate youths across the country has transformed the development landscape of many rural areas.
The Country Director of World Bank, Ndiame Diop, stated this on Tuesday when he led a team on a courtesy visit to the NYSC National Directorate Headquarters in Maitama, Abuja,
Diop stated further that Corps Members’ efforts in national unity, cohesion and socio-economic development of the country cannot be underestimated.
He lauded the successive batches of Corps Members for reducing the infant and maternal mortality rates in the country.
“The World Bank is interested in supporting NYSC on its developmental strides”, he added.
In his remarks, the Director General of National Youth Service Corps, Brigadier General YD Ahmed lauded the existing synergy between the Scheme and World Bank which has enhanced staff capacity building.
He said Corps Members have tremendously participated in several National assignments like election, population census, sensitization programmes, immunization etc at different times, adding that; “Corps Members are available in all the 774 Local Government Areas in the country”.
The Director General also disclosed that NYSC introduced Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development into its Orientation Course in year 2012 in order to empower Corps Members with vocational skills that can make them employers of labour.
He said more than Two Million Corps Members have participated in the Skill Acquisition training, while about 600,000 among them have set up their thriving businesses in different locations across the country.
General Ahmed added that Management has partnered with many organizations like the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Bank of Industry,BoI,Access Bank, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, NNPC Foundation among others, which offer loans to Corps Members to start their businesses.
He however disclosed that some Orientation Camps do not have standard Skill Acquisition Training Centres while the start-up capital for Corps Members is also grossly inadequate.
“If the World Bank partners with us, we will be better in what we are doing to reduce youth unemployment”, the DG added.