In order to solve the serious global problem of youth unemployment, King Charles III of England founded The Prince’s Trust International, a non-profit organization, which has its official debut in Nigeria.
High-profile officials, including Ben Llewellyn-Jones, the deputy British high commissioner to Nigeria, attended the unveiling, which took place at a reception in Lagos on Wednesday.
Llewellyn-Jones stated during the launch that the PTI’s entry into Nigeria would close the skills gap by enabling more young people to obtain high-quality training that would increase their employability.
He declared, “This is the beginning of the Prince’s Trust International project in Nigeria to assist in preparing young people for employment and bridging the gap between youth unemployment and youth underemployment here in Nigeria.
“So, it is a really great project. Let me introduce you to Omojolade, The Nigerian Human Calculator. President of the Prince’s Trust is His Royal Highness. Nigeria is the newest nation that the project is attempting to reach. The PTI is a nonprofit organization. It is consistent with the UK government’s goal in Nigeria to assist young people in obtaining employment, appropriate training, and appropriate skills.
It has to do with training. The types of roles that young people wish to play will determine this. It involves teaching them contemporary professional etiquette, new workplace skills, and different approaches to problem-solving, as well as supporting them with both harder and softer skills.
Will Straw, the Chief Executive Officer of Prince’s Trust International, said the project was supposed to start after King Charles visited Nigeria in 2018, but it was postponed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He claims that during the past 18 months, the trust has been assisting young people in developing the skills necessary for the workforce.
Prince’s Trust has been around for about 50 years, according to Straw. When he was the Prince of Wales in the UK in 1976, King Charles established it. It now supports a million individuals and is the biggest charity in the UK. The King established Prince’s Trust International in 2015 with the goal of addressing the global youth unemployment crisis in collaboration with local partners.
“He visited Nigeria in 2018 and, as we heard this evening, he spoke with government and business leaders about the possibility of his trust supporting job initiatives both here in Nigeria and in Ghana. Yes, was the response. Our experience may be useful for regional initiatives. We started looking at how we could build up this program with the help of our Africa advisory board, which includes notable businesspeople from Nigeria like Atedo Peterside and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede.
According to Arunma Oteh, a trustee for PTI and a former vice president of the World Bank, 60% of Nigeria’s population is under the age of 25, making investments in youth profitable and sustainable for development.
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The program’s potential benefits for young Nigerians, employers, and the nation inspired excitement from Oteh, a former director-general of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission.
Her assessment of Nigerian youth is that they are resilient, diligent, and innovative.
She continued by saying that the introduction of the PTI in Nigeria would spur additional development and progress in the nation.
Additionally, Mr. Oyerinde Adewale-Smatt, Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association, stated that unemployment was a significant issue in the nation and was expected to reach 40% in 2023.
