The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, has called for stronger linkages between education, skills acquisition and employment opportunities to address the growing challenge of youth unemployment in Nigeria.
The call was made on Thursday, September 3, 2026, during a pre-summit dialogue ahead of the 32nd Nigerian Economic Summit (NES#32).
The virtual dialogue, themed “The Missing Link: From Learning to Earning,” brought together stakeholders from the education, technology, philanthropy, entrepreneurship and youth development sectors to examine the barriers preventing young Nigerians from converting education and skills into sustainable livelihoods.
Speaking at the engagement, Chief Executive Officer of Sterling One Foundation, Olapeju Ibekwe, said the dialogue was aimed at laying the groundwork for a focused and implementable agenda capable of moving Nigeria from identifying challenges to delivering practical solutions.
Ibekwe urged stakeholders to sustain the conversation around building an economy capable of creating jobs, improving productivity and delivering shared prosperity.
In her special remarks, Director of Education Planning, Research and Development at the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs Obianuju Anigbogu, stressed the importance of strengthening education planning, research and development as foundations for building a productive and future-ready workforce.
She called for stronger collaboration between government, the private sector and other stakeholders to ensure that education policies and interventions translate into meaningful outcomes for learners and the wider economy.
Delivering the keynote address, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank, Mr Abubakar Sulaiman, said the capabilities needed to drive productivity and economic growth must be developed from the school system.
Sulaiman advocated a shift from an education pipeline focused primarily on certificates to an ecosystem that develops capability, productivity and opportunity.
He said graduates should acquire transferable skills that enable them to function effectively across industries, regardless of their fields of study.
According to him, graduates of disciplines such as History, English or Physics should leave school with a meaningful component of workplace-relevant skills that can enable them to contribute productively to the economy.
He added that developing an adaptable workforce capable of responding to changing industry demands was essential to strengthening the relationship between education, employment and economic productivity.
During the panel discussion, Director of Research, Innovation and Information Technology at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Lawal Mohammed Faruk, represented by Assistant Director, Research, Planning and Administration, Dr Ezinne Orisakwe, called for effective systems to track graduates and out-of-school young people.
Orisakwe said reliable data on the transition from education to employment would enable policymakers to better understand the challenges confronting young people and design responsive interventions.
She also called for stronger policy coordination and urgent capital investment to address the growing number of graduates and skilled Nigerians seeking employment.
Similarly, Director of Programmes and Coordination at the Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), Oyindamola Egbeyemi, said skills development programmes must respond directly to labour-market demands.
She stressed that such programmes should go beyond training and certification to create measurable pathways to employment, entrepreneurship, productivity and improved livelihoods.
Other panellists, including Managing Partner of FATE Africa, Femi Taiwo, and Ibekwe, highlighted structural and practical barriers limiting young Nigerians’ ability to turn education and acquired skills into sustainable livelihoods.
The dialogue emphasised that bridging the gap between learning and earning requires more than expanding access to education. It requires an education and skills ecosystem that equips young Nigerians with relevant, adaptable and marketable capabilities while creating clear pathways to employment, entrepreneurship and productive economic participation.
The engagement forms part of consultations ahead of NES#32, which will focus on practical measures to build an economy that creates opportunities, raises productivity and delivers shared prosperity.