NYSC REVAMPS SAED PROGRAMME, INTRODUCES AI AND DIGITAL SKILLS TO CURRICULUM

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By: Sefiu Ajape

The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) announced it is overhauling its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) training for corps members through the standardisation of the curriculum to achieve deeper impact.

A statement by the Scheme said the Director General (DG), Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu, made the disclosure during his address at the 2025 second SAED stakeholders’ summit held in Abuja.

The summit was themed “Empowering a Generation: Building Competence for the Future Workplace and Enterprise Through Impactful Partnerships.”

Nafiu stated that the Scheme had embarked on a comprehensive digital transformation of the SAED programme as a pathway to combating youth unemployment.

He said the new curriculum includes skills such as artificial intelligence and mobile application development, among others.

He further revealed that Corps Members were being integrated into the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, as well as global remote work opportunities through initiatives like Outsource to Nigeria, NYSC jobs.ng, and the SAED SME toolkit.

Describing SAED as a pillar of youth empowerment in Nigeria, Nafiu noted that more than 3.18 million Corps Members had completed entrepreneurship and workplace readiness training since 2012, with over 30,000 businesses formally registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

“They are employing others and contributing to the Gross Domestic Product while demonstrating that our youths are capable change agents,” he added.

The DG emphasised the need to focus on competence, mastery of SAED skills, and digital fluency among Corps Members to make them highly competitive in a rapidly changing world.

He described the recently launched ₦2 billion MSME loan fund for Corps Entrepreneurs, in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BoI), as a landmark achievement in entrepreneurship development.

Nafiu also commended the founding fathers of the NYSC for their foresight in anticipating and laying the foundation for entrepreneurial training, as outlined in one of the objectives of the Scheme.

He noted, “The unemployment rate as at 1973 was put at 1.9%, but today it is about 6.9%. Nigeria has many young people who lack employability skills.

“We thank our partners and stakeholders in the SAED programme for collaborating with the NYSC to mitigate the scourge of youth unemployment in Nigeria.

“We must be committed to empowering a generation whose innovation and enterprise will shape the country’s future into prosperity.

“Equipping our young people is not just a programme, it is a national assignment, and NYSC is fully committed to it.”

He urged participants at the summit to renew strategies for equipping Corps Members with the necessary skills, creativity, and confidence to thrive in the contemporary world.

Earlier, the Director of SAED, Kehinde Aremu-Cole, expressed gratitude to stakeholders for driving transformation across multiple sectors, including technology and digital skills, creative industries, entrepreneurship development, financial empowerment, and agricultural revitalisation.

Aremu-Cole described as laudable the training, grants, and mentorship sessions delivered previously, noting that they were shaping Nigeria’s future through Corps Members.

He encouraged stakeholders to create special-purpose funding pathways that would turn desire and skills into productive enterprises.

“Together, we are not just running a programme: we are building a generation.

“Let us keep empowering, and let us keep believing in the potential of our young people,” he said.