Empowering young people for a better tomorrow

The Youth Development Programme of SOS Children’s Villages in Nigeria is designed to empower vulnerable youth for sustainable and independent futures. The programme is rooted in the principles of care, protection, and development, as it addresses the unique challenges faced by children and youth in Nigeria, particularly those in SOS Children’s Villages programmes. Youth development is promoted through activities and experiences that help youth develop social, ethical, emotional, physical, and cognitive competencies. We commit to providing individual support to young people to achieve their goals, improve gender equality and increase impact. 

YouthCAN!

Partnering for Youth Employability

In Nigeria, SOS Children's Villages, in collaboration with our partners, launched  YouthCan!, the global partnership for youth employability, in 2017. YouthCan! is a global partnership that supports young people who have lost parental care or are at risk of losing it to successfully transition from school to decent work and independent life. Through corporate partners, the project provides relevant skills to young people via opportunities such as professional skills training, job shadowing, mentorship programmes, internship & job placements.

Young people all over the world are facing challenges when trying to find work and transition to independence. Over the years, partnerships for youth employability with various global and local corporate organisations has been established through the YouthCan! initiative. These corporate organizations include DHL, AkzoNobel (Chemical and Allied Products PLC), iSON BPO, Janssen Nigeria, Radisson Blu, Star Times, Oriflame Nigeria, IHS Nigeria, Ibis Hotel, and Total Nigeria, to mention a few.

Since 2015, young people have participated in internships, mentorships, job shadowing, summer camps, life skills training, job readiness training, entrepreneurship training, business plan competition, financial literacy training, technical apprenticeship, and technical and vocational skills training. These activities have helped them in their journeys towards independence and self-reliance.

Empowering young people

We support young people on their way to employment and independence through a special focus on youth empowerment.

We provide guidance to young people on education and career options, and encourage them to develop their individual interests, talents and opportunities.

We equip disadvantaged young people with the skills and qualifications to increase their employability.

We assist young people to get practical work experience through job shadowing and internships. To do this, we are working in successful partnerships with the private sector, NGOs and government organisations.

A good example is the GoTeach programme with Deutsche Post DHL which improves the employability of disadvantaged young people and early school leavers by connecting them with the world of work. More than 9,000 young people in 26 countries across Latin America, Asia, Africa and Eastern Europe have benefited from the programme.

We promote access to computers and the internet, and help young people improve job readiness through training in digital skills and digital resources for job seekers.

Learn more about how we work with partners to leverage the benefits of technologies for children, young people and families:

Network of global YouthCan! partners