Vocational Skills Training for Marginalised Youth: A Pathway to Inclusion?

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Lessons from Mafita, a skills and employment programme in northern Nigeria

Upskilling Nigeria

Lessons from Mafita, a programme which worked with state governments across four states in northern Nigeria to provide vocational skills training and employment opportunities for marginalised youth.

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Vocational skills training for marginalised youth: a pathway to inclusion?

Mafita was a five-year (2015-2020) programme funded by the UK through the Department for International Development (DFID), which was implemented across four states in northern Nigeria, where high youth unemployment, lack of economic opportunities and high insecurity put a strain on development
opportunities. Mafita’s goal was to remove barriers to employment for marginalised youth, give them access to skills training, improve training quality on a national level and create livelihood opportunities through strategic partnerships with the public and private sector.

In this paper we outline the programme’s achievements, challenges, and most importantly the lessons that can be drawn from Mafita’s experience to inform future skills and employment programming in Nigeria and elsewhere.