King Charles III of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, has set up an initiative to tackle unemployment, bridge skills gap and enhance employability of Nigerian youths.

This was revealed during the Prince’s Trust International (PTI) Recruitment Fair on Tuesday, July 4 in Lagos state.

Meanwhile, the fair was done in partnership with the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and Field of Skills and Dreams (FSD).

Mr Will Straw, the Chief Executive Officer, PTI, said that job scarcity was a global challenge and not peculiar to Nigeria.

Straw noted that Nigerian youths are faced with the issues of skills, jobs and experience gaps.

“Over 10 million Nigerian children are out of school.

“Many more leave school early to start earning; among those who complete their schooling, many can leave education without the skills needed to enter the workforce.

In order to address these challenges, Straw said that the PTI aims to bridge the gap by engaging in programmes that would equip youths with skills.

Straw noted that the PTI was founded by His Majesty King Charles III to tackle the global crisis of youth unemployment.

He added that the programmes are in 23 countries around the world.

According to him, the PTI in collaboration with local partners work on providing opportunities to develop the skills, communication, resilience and confidence of youths to succeed and deliver tangible employment outcomes.

“Our ambition in Nigeria is to create life-changing opportunities for young people, aiming to directly support tens of thousands of young people in the years ahead and many more indirectly in their families and communities,” he said.

Similarly, Ms Arunma Oteh, the PTI’s Trustee and former Vice President, World Bank, said that 60 percent of Nigeria’s population are youths, noting that investment in youths was worthwhile and sustainable for development.

The Director-General, NECA, Oyerinde Adewale-Smatt, said unemployment was a great challenge for the country and was projected to grow to 40 per cent in 2023.

Also, Mrs Omowale Ogunrinde, Founder, FSD, said that many employers are looking beyond certificates to skills that would enhance the values and operations of the organization.