By Godwin Anyebe
In a nation where the youth demographic holds the key to future prosperity, yet faces significant challenges in securing meaningful employment and entrepreneurial footing, the strategic intervention of private sector entities is becoming increasingly critical. Nestlé Nigeria stands out as a pioneering corporate force, systematically addressing this national imperative through a multi-pronged approach that moves beyond basic training to create robust, sustainable economic pathways for young Nigerians.
The company’s overarching vision is encapsulated in its global commitment, the Nestlé Needs YOUth program, launched in 2013 with the ambitious goal of enabling 10 million young people worldwide to access economic opportunities by 2030. In Nigeria, this commitment translates into a massive, sustained investment that spans technical skilling, entrepreneurial mentorship, and grassroots sports development, effectively linking educational inputs to employment and business outputs.
This comprehensive strategy, a powerful blend of industrial training and character formation, has recently been underscored by the graduation of the 8th cohort from the Nestlé Technical Training Center (TTC) in Agbara. This ceremony was not just a celebration of 20 young trainees completing their rigorous course; it was a visible manifestation of a corporate philosophy dedicated to human capital development.
The Nestlé Technical Training Center
The Nestlé Technical Training Center in Agbara is arguably the most powerful engine of the company’s youth development strategy. It is here that raw potential is forged into highly skilled industrial professionals. The curriculum is an intensive, 18-month programme that deliberately blends theoretical engineering education with extensive, hands-on practical application. The reward for this rigor is the prestigious City and Guilds of London Technicians’ Certification, a globally recognised qualification that instantly elevates the employability of its holders.
This focus on world-class, certifiable skills is deliberate, as it addresses a significant gap in the national workforce: the shortage of highly competent technicians capable of operating and maintaining complex, modern industrial equipment.
Mr. Wassim Elhusseini, Managing Director/CEO of Nestlé Nigeria, spoke with clear pride at the graduation ceremony, highlighting the profound, life-altering impact of the TTC. “Each graduation ceremony is a true privilege because it allows us to witness firsthand the life-changing impact of the Nestlé Technical Training Center,” he stated. The tangible successes are compelling: graduates have gone on to build “remarkable careers,” including an alumnus who now serves as a Factory Engineer in Angola, and several others who are excelling as Engineering and Production Supervisors within the company.
The TTC’s success is not just measured by local employment but by global opportunity. In a development that underscores the program’s international standing, five outstanding graduates from the latest class are set to embark on an eight-week internship in Switzerland in October 2025. This exclusive opportunity is facilitated through the company’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Embassy of Switzerland in Nigeria, providing these young Nigerians with invaluable exposure to global best practices and cross-cultural industrial experience.
The statistics surrounding the TTC are a powerful argument for its efficacy: with this latest batch, the center has now produced over 190 young professionals since its inception. Most notably, a stunning 97 per cent of the programme’s graduates have been employed within Nestlé Nigeria, a figure that speaks volumes about the quality of the training and its direct correlation to industrial needs. The TTC, therefore, serves not just as a training center but as a direct career pipeline for the nation’s most promising technical talents.
Expert View: Akeem Ogundimu on Future-Proofing the Workforce
To understand the macro-economic significance of this industrial training model, I turn to Akeem Ogundimu, a respected voice on industrial and workforce development.
“What Nestlé is doing transcends simple training; it’s an investment in future-proofing the Nigerian workforce,” Ogundimu asserted. He emphasised that the City and Guilds certification, combined with practical experience in a multinational environment, is a unique proposition. “By providing certified, world-class skills, they are not just creating employees, but highly sought-after technical experts who can drive industrial growth across West Africa and beyond. The TTC graduates emerge not as learners, but as industry-ready professionals. The internship in Switzerland is an unparalleled exposure that formal, often antiquated, vocational education systems rarely offer. It instills a global standard of excellence and professionalism.”
Ogundimu further highlighted that in an age of rapid technological change and increasing industrial automation, a skilled technical workforce is non-negotiable for any nation aspiring to industrialisation. Nestlé’s commitment, backed by an investment of over N6 billion in upskilling young Nigerians over the years, is essentially subsidising the development of national industrial competence.
The Four Pillars and The Alliance for Entrepreneurship
The TTC is just one pillar of the comprehensive Nestlé Needs YOUth initiative, which, as Mr. Shakiru Lawal, Country Human Resources Manager, detailed, empowers young people through four key pillars: employability, skills development, support, and access to opportunities.
Beyond the physical training center, the company has leveraged technology and strategic partnerships to extend its reach. The Nesternship Program, a virtual internship platform, allows young people to gain practical corporate experience remotely, breaking down geographical barriers. Similarly, the Nestlé Youth Development Program provides essential training and mentorship to enhance overall employability skills, such as communication, digital literacy, and professional ethics.
However, recognizing that not all youth should—or can—be absorbed into corporate employment, Nestlé Nigeria took the pioneering step of co-founding the Alliance for Youth Nigeria four years ago. This formidable consortium, which includes Jobberman Nigeria, Big Bottling Company, the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, and U-Connect HR Limited, represents a collective, systemic effort to tackle youth unemployment.
The Alliance is not only supported by key corporate and international bodies but also by crucial government stakeholders, including the Federal Ministry of Youth and the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund, ensuring its alignment with national developmental goals. Its mandate is ambitious: to equip 250,000 young Nigerians with employability and entrepreneurial skills by 2030.
The Alliance’s impact in its first four years is noteworthy, having already empowered over 25,000 young Nigerians with jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities through skills training.
Vocational Skills: The Bridge to Start-ups
The Alliance’s flagship vocational skills training programme focuses on equipping youth with market-relevant, practical skills that can be immediately monetised. This year, 585 youths participated in the training in Jos, acquiring skills in high-demand areas such as beauty care, video editing, solar panel installation, and web design.
The genius of this program lies in its direct link to entrepreneurship. Participants are required to showcase their capabilities through real-time projects. Critically, high performers across the various tracks received start-up kits and seed capital, enabling them to immediately transition from trainees to entrepreneurs. This injection of capital and equipment eliminates one of the biggest barriers to new business formation—the initial funding and resource requirement.
Mr. Shakiru Lawal, speaking on behalf of Nestlé Nigeria as a proud member of the Alliance, affirmed the collective vision: “Nestlé Nigeria is committed to empowering young people with the skills, confidence, and opportunities they need to thrive. Together with other partners, we are building careers and nurturing the next generation of leaders who will shape a better future for our nation.”
Stephanie Iwunze, representing the United Nations Global Compact Network Nigeria, added a global perspective, noting the critical importance of investment in skills as technological advancements continue to reshape the global workforce. From the government’s side, Deborah Pitmang, Zonal Coordinator at the Federal Ministry of Youth, commended the sustained collaboration, underscoring a vital truth for national policy: “Youth make up a vital segment of Nigeria’s population, and investing in their skills is essential for national development. The higher the skills, the higher the gains.”
Expert View: Paul Amodu on Entrepreneurial Advocacy
Paul Amodu, a seasoned Youth Developmental Advocate, views the Alliance’s model as the gold standard for sustainable empowerment.
“The transition from skill development to start-up is crucial for a thriving economy; it is where the rubber meets the road,” Amodu explained. “Most vocational training leaves the graduate with a certificate but no means to buy the tools or rent the space to start their business. The Alliance for Youth, with its focus on vocational and digital skills, is directly addressing the unemployment crisis by turning job seekers into job creators. Providing that initial seed capital and start-up kits is the essential bridge that ensures the training doesn’t end with a certificate but begins with a viable business. This is the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish, and then—critically—giving him the fishing rod and a small boat to start his own fishing enterprise.”
Amodu praised the intentional selection of skills that have immediate market demand, such as solar panel installation and web design, aligning the youth’s capabilities with the needs of the emerging green and digital economies. He concluded that this collaborative, results-oriented approach is critical for tackling what Country Head of Programmes at Jobberman Nigeria, Olamide Adeyeye, rightly stressed as the socioeconomic significance of meaningful youth development for Nigeria’s future.
The Power of Sport: The Milo Championship
Nestlé Nigeria’s dedication to youth development is not solely focused on industrial and entrepreneurial skills; it also deeply invests in character formation and socio-emotional learning through one of the most enduring grassroots sports initiatives in the country: the Milo Secondary School Basketball Championship.
This championship, now in its 25th edition, is a long-standing and impactful program that has been running for over two decades. It is a powerful demonstration of the company’s belief that the values learned through sport are foundational to success in any career. The program aims to develop young athletes by fostering essential life skills, including grit, resilience, teamwork, confidence, discipline, and leadership. Furthermore, the championship has maintained an inclusive outlook, notably featuring inclusive matches for individuals with disabilities, broadening its social impact.
The scale of the competition is immense, involving over 10,000 schools and 150,000 players annually across four conferences, culminating in a spectacular national final in Lagos.
The atmosphere at the National Stadium in Lagos for the 2025 finale was electric, a moment of igniting the “power of sports and sportsmanship” for students who travelled from as far as Niger, Kano, Bayelsa, and FCT, Abuja.
Boladele Odunlami, Commercial Manager, Nestlé Nigeria, captured the essence of the championship’s philosophy: “At Nestlé Milo, we believe that sport is one of life’s greatest treasures. It teaches teamwork, resilience and respect. It builds confidence, discipline and leadership. Young people caring to dream, rising to compete, and learning to lead; this is the power of sport.”
Odunlami confirmed Nestlé’s unwavering commitment, not merely as a sponsor but as a genuine partner in youth development. He stressed that the skills learned during the national championship “will shape the future of the students, long after the final moments of the annual basketball championship.” The prize money for the male and female category winners—a significant million—and the million for runners-up, along with product supplies and sporting items, provide a strong incentive and support for school sports development.
Beyond the trophies and prizes, the championship has a historical track record of opening up bigger opportunities. The organization of the annual championship has consistently paved the way for young basketball players to qualify for the national team, as well as other major basketball leagues across the globe, as noted by Dharnesh Gordhon, a former Managing Director of Nestlé Nigeria Plc, regarding the impact of the 15th edition. This included the introduction of a Top 50 camp, facilitated by NBA coaches and scouts from the United States of America, further cementing the program’s role as a springboard for international athletic careers.
Beneficiary View: Usokoti Leidly on Character and Career
The true value of the Milo Championship is best understood through the experience of its beneficiaries. Usokoti Leidly from Numan, Adamawa State, a onetime beneficiary of the competition, eloquently connected his experience on the court to his subsequent life journey.
“The Milo Championship is more than just a game; it’s a training ground for life,” Leidly asserted. “The intense competition, the need to travel and compete with students from different cultures, and the pressure of the national finals teach you things no textbook can. It taught me grit, resilience, and teamwork—values that are absolutely essential whether you’re on the court or starting a business, or even navigating a corporate career. It taught me to handle pressure, celebrate victory with humility, and bounce back from defeat with renewed determination.”
Leidly emphasized that the competition exposed him to a national stage and motivated him to pursue excellence in all his endeavors. For countless Nigerian youth, the Milo Championship provides their first taste of national recognition, professional-level organization, and the realization that hard work and discipline can lead to significant rewards. The competition’s success stories, such as the victory of Father O’Connell Science College and Government Secondary School, Karu in the 2025 finale, inspire thousands more to embrace the positive values of sport.
A Blueprint for Corporate-Driven Development
Nestlé Nigeria’s commitment to youth development—a goal of enabling 10 million young people worldwide to access economic opportunities by 2030—is realized through a robust, integrated, and evidence-based strategy in Nigeria.
The company’s approach is a comprehensive ecosystem that directly addresses the root causes of youth unemployment and underdevelopment:
Bridging the Technical Skills Gap: The TTC provides world-class industrial training, directly feeding the economy with highly skilled technicians and creating an internal talent pipeline.
Fostering Entrepreneurship: The Alliance for Youth Nigeria and its vocational training programs with seed capital directly create micro-entrepreneurs and small business owners, diversifying the economic base.
Building Foundational Character: The Milo Basketball Championship instills the necessary soft skills—grit, resilience, and leadership—that underpin professional success in any field.
Nestlé Nigeria is not merely dispensing charity; it is engaged in strategic, long-term nation-building through human capital investment. The billion already invested, the successful careers launched, the entrepreneurs created, and the thousands of students inspired annually, paint a clear picture of a private sector entity acting as a powerful partner in national development.
In a country where youth represent both a massive challenge and the greatest resource, Nestlé Nigeria has provided a compelling blueprint for corporate-driven, sustainable youth empowerment—a journey that effectively runs from skills to start-ups, and from the sports field to industrial leadership.
Would you like a detailed analysis of the specific skills taught in the Alliance for Youth’s vocational program (e.g., solar panel installation) and their economic relevance in Nigeria?
Culled from www.consumersassembly.com
