The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) has officially launched a significant overhaul of its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, positioning artificial intelligence (AI) and wider digital skills at the core of efforts to confront youth unemployment and enhance economic participation among young Nigerians. The reform was announced at the 2025 second SAED stakeholders’ summit in Abuja under the theme “Empowering a Generation: Building Competence for the Future Workplace and Enterprise Through Impactful Partnerships.”
Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, Director General of NYSC, explained that the revamp forms part of a broader digital transformation aimed at equipping Corps Members with contemporary competencies aligned to 21st-century labour market demands. “The new curriculum incorporates contemporary skills such as artificial intelligence and mobile application development, among others,” he said, stressing that such capabilities are essential to making young people competitive both locally and globally.
A cornerstone of the revamped SAED initiative is the integration of Corps Members into strategic national and global talent development initiatives. Participants are being mainstreamed into the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and connected to remote work platforms, including Outsource to Nigeria, NYSC Jobs.ng, and the SAED SME Toolkit, thereby enhancing access to income-generating opportunities beyond traditional employment pathways. Von News
The scale of NYSC’s digital skills training efforts is already notable. Over the past two years, 58,933 Corps Members have undergone various digital training programmes designed to boost employability and entrepreneurial potential, with 56,013 receiving ICT training during orientation camps nationwide. An additional 2,920 female Corps Members benefited from specialised digital skills training through a partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre, reflecting a gender-inclusive approach to empowerment.
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In his summit address, General Nafiu underscored the broader impact of SAED since its inception, noting that more than 3.18 million Corps Members have completed entrepreneurship and workplace readiness training since 2012. Over 30,000 businesses founded by Corps Members have been formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), contributing to employment creation and economic growth. “They are employing others and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product while demonstrating that our youths are capable change agents,” he stated.
Responding to Nigeria’s persistent unemployment challenges, General Nafiu highlighted the importance of digital fluency. He cited historical and current figures to contextualise the imperative for skills development: “The unemployment rate as at 1973 was put at 1.9%, but today it is about 6.9%. Nigeria has many young people who lack employability skills.” The upgraded SAED curriculum, he asserted, aims to bridge this gap by fostering competence and mastery in critical technology areas.
To further support enterprise development, NYSC has partnered with the Bank of Industry (BoI) to establish a ₦2 billion MSME loan fund for Corps entrepreneurs, described by the Director General as a landmark achievement. This financing initiative is intended to catalyse small business growth and reinforce the transition from training to self-sustaining enterprise.
Kehinde Aremu-Cole, Director of SAED, lauded stakeholders for their role in driving transformation across sectors, including technology, entrepreneurship, financial empowerment and agricultural revitalisation. She called for increased investment in purpose-specific funding pathways to help translate skills into productive enterprises. “Together, we are not just running a programme: we are building a generation,” she said, urging continued belief in the potential of Nigerian youth.
Analysts view the NYSC’s strategic repositioning of SAED as a proactive response to structural employment challenges in Nigeria, aiming to cultivate a digitally proficient workforce capable of driving innovation, enterprise and economic resilience.