The Federal Government has officially rolled out the iDICE Skills-to-Jobs Initiative, the largest government-anchored digital skills-to-employment project in Nigeria's history, targeting 300,000 young Nigerians for training and active linkage to jobs in the digital and creative sectors. The initiative, which launches simultaneously across all six geopolitical zones, marks a defining milestone in the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.
Programme Backing and Partners
The initiative is delivered under the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme, a $617.7 million Federal Government flagship co-financed by the African Development Bank (AfDB), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB). The Bank of Industry (BOI) serves as both a co-financier and executing agency, overseeing the programme's implementation.
Six implementing partners, each anchored in one of Nigeria's six geopolitical zones, have been competitively selected to train and actively link graduates to job opportunities in Nigeria's digital and creative economy and the global outsourcing market. The programme targets an employment linkage rate of at least 80% of trained beneficiaries, translating to job opportunities for a minimum of 240,000 young Nigerians upon completing their training.
Training Tracks and Structure
Participants will be trained across three tracks—Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced—each designed to meet learners at their current level and build progressively toward job-ready competencies. Training combines online learning with physical sessions, removing barriers of location and device access for young Nigerians in both urban and rural communities.
The programme covers all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), with a strong emphasis on inclusion. A minimum of 40% of all beneficiaries will be female, and at least 5% will be persons living with disabilities and young people who are Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET). Implementing partners will conduct beneficiary selection through a structured, transparent screening process under the oversight of the Bank of Industry.
Government and BOI Reactions
Vice President Kashim Shettima commented on the rollout: "The iDICE Skills-to-Jobs Initiative is a concrete expression of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration's Renewed Hope Agenda. We are not training young Nigerians and leaving them to find their own way. We are building the bridge from skills to employment, connecting 300,000 of our brightest young people to digital and creative jobs that the 21st-century global economy demands. Nigeria has the talent. This programme offers an invaluable pathway."
Dr Olasupo Olusi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank of Industry, also spoke to the significance of the initiative: "iDICE is a programme that is centred on sustainable economic transformation, and the Skills-to-Jobs component is one of its most powerful levers. By channelling the Federal Government's investment into a structured pipeline of digitally skilled, job-ready young Nigerians, we are catalysing BOI's primary mandate to facilitate economic growth by not only providing the requisite skill set and creating sustainable jobs for our teeming youth population, but also ensuring the favourable conditions for them to participate productively in the process. The scale of this programme, 300,000 beneficiaries across every zone of the country, reflects the ambition that the moment requires."
Application Details and Next Steps
Young Nigerians aged 15 to 35 who reside in Nigeria and wish to build a career in the digital and creative economy are encouraged to apply now at idice.ng/skills-training-to-jobs. The iDICE Programme is a $617.7 million Federal Government of Nigeria flagship initiative designed to accelerate Nigeria's digital and creative economy through enterprise development, skills training, and access to finance, with BOI as the executing agency.
