UNICEF, Unilever Empower Over 600,000 Nigerian Youths Through Career Devt Program

 Funmi Ogundare 

UNICEF has announced that its partnership with Unilever on the Generation Unlimited (GenU) Naija initiative, has already impacted over 600,000 young Nigerians. 

Speaking at the second annual Future-X Campus Ambassadors Programme (FUCAP) seminar at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Tuesday, the Head of UNICEF’s Lagos Field Office and National Lead for GenU Nigeria, Celine Lafoucriere, described the results as remarkable, noting that the partnership has already reached over five million students with career and employability skills.

“This partnership with Unilever is significant because it delivers real tools, career guidance, soft skills training, and apprenticeship opportunities that help young people move from learning to earning,” Lafoucriere said. “In just two years, we’re already close to our goal. With continued momentum, we may even exceed one million youth impacted by the third year.”

She described FUCAP as a core part of the Generation Unlimited Naija platform, a nationwide public-private initiative aimed at equipping Nigerian youth with the skills, networks and opportunities needed for meaningful employment, adding that UNILAG students, in particular, have been highly active in the programme, participating in mentorship sessions, CV clinics, and innovation pitches focused on issues like sanitation and hygiene.

“Today isn’t just about skills, it’s about belief,” Lafoucriere told students. “Belief in your talent, your leadership, and your ability to shape Nigeria’s future.”

Skill Development Specialist, UNICEF (Generation Unlimited), Bharat Kundra, emphasised the urgency of addressing youth unemployment, a global challenge now taking centre stage in Nigeria, where over 70 per cent of the population is under 30.

“Youth unemployment is one of the biggest challenges of the 21st century,” Kundra said. “It’s not just Nigeria, it’s everywhere, developed, developing, and middle-income countries alike. But here, with more than 100 million young people, the stakes and the potential are massive,” Kundra said.

The initiative, he noted, began by targeting 20 universities and polytechnics across Nigeria in its first phase, selecting institutions where youth are concentrated and preparing to enter the workforce, adding that it aims to impact 700,000 Nigerian youths by 2026.

“This is just the beginning,” Kundra added. “Our ultimate goal is to help young people transition from learning to earning. We believe in their innovation, agility and risk-taking spirit — qualities vital for the future of work.”

The programme’s growth, the specialist said, is being supported by multiple global and local stakeholders, including Microsoft, SAP, IHS, Airtel and Nigerian federal and state government bodies. 

“Nigeria’s Vice-President, Kashim Shettima, has agreed to chair the national board of Generation Unlimited. This move is expected to catalyse widespread attention and policy support,” he stated.

Speaking with journalists, the HR and Employer Brand Project Specialist at Unilever, Oreoluwa Dina, explained that the initiative is not only meeting its goals but exceeding expectations. “From last year until now, we’ve impacted more than 200,000 young people, and in this year alone, over 150,000 and we’re still counting,” she said.

The programme includes in-person seminars and online learning, covering topics such as CV writing, career path selection, workplace readiness and entrepreneurship. Unilever’s level-up entrepreneurship skills course is one of the key offerings, designed to help young Nigerians not only seek jobs but also become job creators.

“We’ve noticed that the labour market cannot absorb everyone,” Dina said. “So we’re also equipping young people to start their own ventures, to become employers themselves.”

In addition to skill-building, the initiative also provides real-world internship opportunities, helping youth apply their knowledge in practical work environments. “It’s not just about teaching skills,” Dina emphasised. “It’s about making sure they can use them.”

The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, University of Lagos, Prof. Afolabi Leshi, emphasised on the alignment between the institution’s strategic vision and the goals of the FUCAP initiative. 

He explained that UNILAG’s ‘Future Ready’ agenda, championed by the vice-chancellor, is focused on building the capacity of students, faculty, and staff to anticipate and solve emerging societal problems.

“Being future ready means having the ability to foresee and address problems that may not even exist yet,” he said. “And that starts with empowering people, particularly our students with the right mindset and soft skills to become solution providers in a fast-changing world.”

He emphasised that the problems facing Nigeria and Africa at large will ultimately be solved by Africans who are well-equipped to engage the future. “This programme, which focuses on soft skills, leadership, and workplace readiness, fits perfectly into our development vision,” Leshi added.