KIR FOUNDATION DIGITAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS TRAINING

In response to the challenge posed by the very high rates of unemployment or underemployment in the Niger Delta, particularly amongst the youth population; Foundation For Partnership Initiative In The Niger Delta (PIND), a   Nigerian non-profit Foundation established in 2010, with funding support from Ford Foundation, started the implementation of the Niger Delta Youth Employment Pathways (NDYEP) Project in the last quarter of 2017. NDYEP will be implemented over two years in Abia, Akwa Ibom and Rivers States as pilot States.

With target sectors that include Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Construction, the project seeks to map the ecosystem of skills development, analyse opportunities for employment creation and develop models of youth job readiness or workforce development that will provide disadvantaged young men and women in the Niger Delta the opportunity to secure sustainable jobs and enterprises. The approach is to make this happen is through innovative and quality training that prepare participants with market-relevant skills and linkages.

To achieve its objectives, PIND working in collaboration with its partners and stakeholders has designed specific interventions targeted at

• Building Skills for the Construction Sector
• Strengthening ICT Ecosystem
• Bright Future Grant
• Agric-Innovation Challenge
• Jumpstarting Aquaculture Enterprise skills

Keeping It Real (KIR)Foundation is fortunate to be one of the partner organizations working with PIND on the Bright Future Grant.  The focus of this grant is to run a training program for rural and/or disadvantaged youth to provide training on basic digital literacy or similar basic ICT training for job readiness and employability. Our main goal in this program as an organization is to provide vocational training (digital literacy, hardware repairs and maintenance and entrepreneurship) for 50 unemployed and disadvantaged youth with and without disabilities to enhance employability and provide a skilled foundation for job readiness.