Abimbola Abatta
The Ministry of Youth and Sports Development said it has created a unified platform to empower the youths and provide information on career, trainings, and employment opportunities.
Nigerian NewsDirect reports that the platform, Nigeria Online Youth Assembly (NOYA), was in line with the vision of President Muhammadu Buhari to create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youth and lift 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in the next 10 years.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare, disclosed this at a three-day sensitisation workshop on the use of the NOYA platform held simultaneously at the National Youth Development Centre, Ode Omu in Osun State, as well as Jos, Plateau State.
Dare, represented by the Director of Procurement in the Ministry, Mr. Segun Oke, said NOYA “is an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development developed in order to empower Nigeria youth by disseminating timely information on career enhancing, trainings, job and employment placement opportunities via a unified platform.
“The website created for all youth to tap the opportunities is https://noya.ng/home.aspx),” he said.
He added that President Buhari’s mission for the Nigerian youths “formed the background through which the rationale of the NOYA and Digital Entrepreneurship Employability Leadership (DEEL) initiative of the Ministry emerged.
“The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development believes that the energy, skills and aspirations of young people are crucial assets that no country can afford to waste, and helping them realize their full potential by gaining access to employment is no doubt a prerequisite to poverty eradication and sustainable development.
“Rather than seeing youth as a burden to the society, the creation of a youth job template offers the government a distinctive opportunity to focus on employment and job creation for young persons in the country,” he added.
The Minister explained that the NOYA platform would re-invent the future of Nigerian youth using knowledge and creativity to escape poverty traps, unemployment, immoral acts and other unhealthy plaques existing in our society.
He, thereafter, tasked the youths to take up the challenge for self-development that will support youth inclusion in nation building, saying “you have the potentials, the talents and energies and so take up opportunities for skills development and other opportunities that will give you a leverage in global economy.”