The Director-General, National Youths Service Corps (NYSC), Brig-Gen Shuaibu Ibrahim, has assured all the corps members in the country that the federal government is working to reduce unemployment in the country.

Ibrahim made this known in Bauchi on Tuesday, during the swearing-in ceremony of the 2021 batch B stream 2 corps members in the state.

The DG who was represented by Alhaji Hamisu Abubakar, the State Coordinator of NYSC, also said that the scheme is meticulous in the implementation of its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, which he said is meant to prepare corps members for self-employment and wealth creation.

“As you are already aware, the rate of graduate unemployment is of great concern to us as a nation. Happily, the federal government and other stakeholders are leaving no stone unturned in the efforts to address this challenge as clearly demonstrated through various policies and programmes.

“As a scheme that is responsive to prevailing national needs, the NYSC is also assiduous in the implementation of its Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme.

“This programme is meant to prepare corps members for self-employment and wealth creation through vocational and entrepreneurial training as well as linkage with financial institutions and other funding sources for business start-up financing,” said the D-G.

He, however, urged all the corps members currently undergoing the three-week orientation exercise to avail themselves of the opportunity instead of joining the ranks of unemployed graduates scouting for the rarely available white-collar jobs.

He further stated that the orientation exercises are conducted at a time when Nigeria and the world at large are stepping up efforts to stamp out Covid-19, explaining that the scheme has demonstrated its commitment through measures taken in collaboration with the Presidential Steering Committee on Covid-19 and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

“This includes our insistence on testing prospective corps members, course officials and visitors for the virus before admission to the camp, enforcement of physical distancing, wearing of face mask and provision of hand washing points at strategic locations among others,” he noted.

Ibrahim, who further appreciated the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19 and the NCDC for their support and guidance towards safe and efficient conduct of the orientation course, also commended the federal government for its ‘unwavering support to the scheme as demonstrated through sustained provision of resources for the smooth conduct of its operations.