The Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Germany has formed a partnership with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development to implement a dual vocational training programme to reduce the high unemployment rate among Nigerian Youth.
The chamber’s chief executive officer, Dr Matthias Leder, stated this yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with Federal Ministry of Youth Development officials led by the minister, Mr Ayodele Olawande.
He said the collaboration aims to equip young Nigerians with industry-relevant technical and vocational skills through a structured training system that combines theoretical education with practical, on-the-job experience.
“From the first day of the apprenticeship, you work three days in a company and two days at the vocational training school. This means from your start as an apprentice, you gain the market experience,” he said.
He said they implemented Dual Vocational Training in Abuja, Abeokuta and Lagos between 2012 and 2019 in collaboration with the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, and about 95% of the apprentices secured gainful employment after passing their examinations in the vocational training school.
Dr Leder, who described Dual Vocational Training as a game changer in fighting unemployment, said they are discussing restarting the programme with the German Delegation of Commerce and Industry.
He further emphasised that Nigeria’s vast pool of talented youth presents a unique opportunity to address skill shortages within the country and in Germany’s labour markets.
He said the Dual Vocational Training Programme for young Nigerians enhances their career prospects and serves as a strategic solution to bridging the manpower gap in companies in Germany, where skilled labour is in high demand.
“The idea could be to invite young Nigerians with sufficient learning skills to get free Dual Vocational Training in Germany. There are companies that lack workers, and when they receive the training and pass their exams, they can be sure there are plenty of job offers, and the first place, of course, is the training company,” he said.
He said this could bring many advantages to young Nigerians, who could earn as much as €1,000 annually as apprentices.
In his remarks, the Managing Partner of Bruit Costaud and Former Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who led the German delegation, said the initiative on Dual Vocational Training is an innovative and time-tested model that integrates both theoretical knowledge and hands-on practical experience within factories in Germany.
“Beyond individual empowerment, this initiative has a broader economic dimension. Through the initiative of Giessen-Friedberg Chambers of Commerce and Industry to promote structured and legitimate labour migration, we are positioning Nigerian youth to become productive members of the global economy while simultaneously supporting Nigeria’s economic growth through remittances,” he said.
In his response, the minister of youth development, Mr Ayodele Olawande, welcomed the idea and expressed his willingness to partner with the Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Germany on Dual Vocational Training.
“If there is one thing for us as a ministry, it is that at the end of two years, we want to see that 7 million Nigerians are upright enough to stand on their own and say we are skilled.
“As a ministry, when we say youth development, we want to develop our youth, and the only way we can develop the youth is to support them, empower them and protect them,” he said.
Olawande directed the setting up of a technical committee to interface with the Giessen-Friedberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Germany to develop the framework for partnership on Dual Vocational Training for Nigerian youths.
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