By Oluwafunke Ishola
United Way Greater Nigeria (UWGN), an NGO, has collaborated with eDigital Africa and VFD Group to train 40 unemployed youths in Social Media Marketing toward reducing the unemployment rate of the country.
Zehra Talib-Emiko, UWGN Acting Executive Director, said on Thursday in Lagos that the training was aimed at assisting unemployed youths to acquire relevant digital skills to aid gainful employment and increase their income earning potential.
“The youth unemployment rate in Nigeria has steadily risen from an average of 12.3 per cent in 2006 to 23.19 per cent in 2018.
“Since almost half of Nigeria’s population lives in extreme poverty, this continuous increase in unemployment should be given more focus and response.
“With this in mind, vocational education, particularly skills for employment, plays a critical role in alleviating the burden of unemployment and poverty,” she said.
According to her, one of the focus areas of United Way Greater Nigeria is financial stability.
She said that the organization had been working to boost financial stability in Nigeria through vocational training for unemployed youths and young entrepreneurs.
The director expressed optimism that the training would aid youths attain their full potential of making a decent and honest living, achieve financial stability and stimulate economic growth.
Talib-Emiko said that eDigital Africa supported the participants with lessons on social media best practices, content creation, hands-on practice sessions and techniques to effectively communicate with their target audience and the general public.
“Online digital marketing skills has the power to turn social media accounts into income generating accounts.
“We hope that these fundamental social media skills will empower them to acquire more relevant digital skills to enhance their entrepreneurship opportunities,” she said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that United Way Greater Nigeria is a non-profit organization that focuses on education, health and financial stability.
It is the local partner of United Way Worldwide, a 100 years old organisation working in over 40 countries and 1800 communities worldwide. (NAN)