Principal Adviser at the Generation Unlimited (GenU) Secretariat in New York, Urmila Sarkar, yesterday, called for equal access to skill-building opportunities for both young men and women, emphasising the importance of enabling youths to follow their passions and pursue sustainable livelihoods.
Sarkar made this call, during a project visit to Yaba College of Technology and Computer Village, Ikeja, on the Girls Education Skills Programme (GESP) powered by UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
( FCDO), Generation Unlimited and UNICEF. The organisations provided part of the GESP funds to YABATECH to implement the project .
It aims to empower one million young girls and women between the ages of 13 to 24 with high quality and market relevant skills to enable them become employable and entrepreneurial.
The girls have been taught to develop mobile and web apps at the college and also taught to repair and maintain computers and mobile phones at the computer village.
Sarkar stressed the need to provide equal chances for young people, especially women, to succeed.
She explained that for the country to make meaningful progress, we must ensure that young women in Nigeria have the same opportunities to develop skills and pursue livelihoods as their male counterparts.
Sarkar expressed her admiration for the numerous organisations supporting girls' education and skills development in Nigeria, highlighting it as a global issue.
" Many adolescent girls urgently need skills and opportunities to earn a living," she said, noting that young women often lack access to digital opportunities. In countries like Nigeria, she pointed out, such challenges are significant but not insurmountable.
The principal adviser further explained that her organisation works to connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need, with a particular focus on reaching marginalized young women.
"Youth unemployment and the skills gap are among the greatest challenges of our time, and they are critical to global socio-economic development," she added.
Addressing the topic of gender mainstreaming, Sarkar noted that the needs of adolescent girls should be at the forefront. "Globally, one in five young people is neither in education, training, nor employment, and young women are twice as likely to be in this situation," she said.
She emphasised that barriers such as limited access to education, community restrictions, and lack of information prevent young women from pursuing opportunities.
"GenU, UNICEF, and other public partners must work together to break down these barriers and ensure that young women have equal access to opportunities," she said.
When asked why the focus is on girls, she explained that statistics show girls face more obstacles than boys in terms of education, digital access, and skills development.
"This disparity is reflected in the labor market, making it even more crucial to level the playing field for both genders," she added.
Phoebe Hill, Team Leader for Higher Education and Skills at the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), emphasised the UK government's commitment to supporting initiatives that empower girls.
"We fund many projects aimed at improving girls' education and addressing areas where they are underrepresented," she explained. "For example, we support initiatives like the YABATECH project through UNICEF."
Hill praised YABATECH as an exemplary project under the Generation Education Skills Partnership (GESP), noting the dedication of its staff in supporting girls.
"We are impressed with the progress made so far and look forward to seeing further developments when UNICEF returns in the next three months to assess the project's impact," she stated.
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The Rector of YABATECH, Dr. Abdul Ibraheem expressed excitement about the initiative, saying that learning extends beyond the classroom.
He also expressed optimism about expanding the project to include skills beyond ICT, highlighting the importance of gender-responsive pedagogy in training young women.
"We are excited about this initiative because it empowers the girls to transition from learning to earning independently," Dr. Ibraheem said. He also expressed satisfaction about taking the students to Computer Village, where they could explore the fields they would eventually focus on.
The rector reiterated the management's dedication to promoting this model to the government.
"There are many young people out there with no opportunities, but if they understand the value of empowerment, they will embrace it," he stated.
