Nigeria's NYSC to undergo skill‑focused overhaul under Tinubu reforms

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced a comprehensive amendment to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Act, aiming to turn the programme into a skill‑oriented platform for youth empowerment and national development. The revised scheme will train corps members in eleven specialised streams—including agriculture, health, education, technology, law, public service, infrastructure, the creative economy and security—while using a technology‑driven call‑up process that matches assignments to graduates’ academic backgrounds and career interests.

Special Adviser Hadiza Bala Usman outlined a three‑phase orientation: two weeks of civic duties, two weeks of career mapping, financial literacy and business planning, followed by two weeks of specialised training aligned with each member’s chosen stream. In parallel, Director General Brigadier General Olakunle Nafiu urged the 2025 batch to apply skills from the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) Programme to launch businesses and become employers, reinforcing the reform’s entrepreneurship push.

The changes are presented as a response to chronic graduate under‑employment in Nigeria, seeking to equip the country’s youthful population—about 70% of its citizens—with practical competencies that support both individual livelihoods and broader economic growth while preserving the NYSC’s unifying mission.