UNESCO REF and ABE, United Kingdom, Join Forces to Develop Nigerian Talent for Global Success
UNESCO REF Media Centre | Institutional Partnership
A ten-year partnership with the Association of Business Executives targets 1.2 million young Nigerians with internationally recognised qualifications in enterprise, leadership and economic capacity.
ABUJA, Nigeria, March 2019. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) and the Association of Business Executives (ABE), United Kingdom, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop Nigerian talent for global success. Delivered through The August Project (TAP), the ten-year partnership, running to 2027, targets 1.2 million young Nigerians for intellectual, leadership and economic capacity building through internationally recognised qualifications.
Global alignmentAlignement mondialThe global commitments this story advances. Open to see how.
- SDG8
SDG 8, Decent Work (primary)
ProvisionTarget 8.3: entrepreneurship; Target 8.6: youth employment and training
How the partnership respondsEnterprise skills for 1.2 million young Nigerians
- SDG4
SDG 4, Quality Education
ProvisionTarget 4.4: skills for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship
How the partnership respondsInternationally recognised qualifications
- SDG9
SDG 9, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
ProvisionTarget 9.3: access of small enterprises to markets
How the partnership respondsPrepares youth to engage international markets
- SDG17
SDG 17, Partnerships
ProvisionTarget 17.17: partnerships
How the partnership respondsA United Kingdom and Nigerian institutional partnership
- AU
African Union Agenda 2063
ProvisionAspiration 6: development driven by African youth
How the partnership respondsRetains talent for national development
The agreement joins a United Kingdom awarding body with long experience in business and management education to a Nigerian institution with a national reach among young people. Its premise is simple but consequential: that young Nigerians should be able to earn qualifications recognised anywhere in the world without having to leave Nigeria to do so.
The partnership
Le partenariat
- Scale. 1.2 million young Nigerians over ten years, to 2027.
- Qualifications. Internationally recognised ABE programmes and certificates in business, enterprise and management.
- Professional standing. Two international memberships, with the Institute of Leadership and Management and with ABE.
- Outcomes. Decent work, new enterprises, and reduced unemployment and poverty.
Voices
Témoignages
“The synergy will accelerate the provision of such improved competences and capabilities.”
Prince Abdulsalami Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan, President, UNESCO REF
Prince Ladigbolu-Oranmiyan added that the programme would equip young Nigerians to understand and compete in international markets.
“Nigerians have the best students around the world and yet struggle to cope in Nigeria.”
Dr Mark Abiye, Public Relations Officer, UNESCO REF
“ABE are proud to be partners with UNESCO-Ref on the TAP project in Nigeria”
Association of Business Executives
Addressing recognition and retention
Reconnaissance et rétention des talents
The partnership responds to two linked challenges. The first is recognition: qualifications earned at home have not always carried weight in international labour markets. The second is retention: too many talented young Nigerians have concluded that they must emigrate to fulfil their potential. Internationally recognised qualifications, earned in Nigeria and linked to professional membership, address both at once, strengthening the case for talent to build its future at home.
Significance
Portée
The ABE agreement reflects the model that has shaped UNESCO REF’s international partnerships: global partners, national reach and measurable outcomes for young Nigerians, aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals on education, decent work and innovation.
ENDS
Notes to editorsNotes aux rédactions
About ABE. The Association of Business Executives is a United Kingdom-based awarding body offering internationally recognised business and management qualifications.
About UNESCO REF. The Read and Earn Federation for UNESCO (UNESCO REF) works to strengthen human and institutional capacity across Nigeria and Africa through education, research and professional development, in alignment with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Media enquiries. UNESCO REF Media Centre, info@unescoref.org