The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting young people to turn their ideas and ambitions into tangible outcomes.
UNICEF’s Chief of Field Officer for South-West Nigeria, Ms Celine Lafoucriere, made the reaffirmation at a Future X Unilever Campus Ambassadors Programme (FUCAP) 2.0 Career Seminar 2025 on Tuesday.
The event held at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and attracted thousands of youths including students of the institution.
The event was organised by UNICEF in collaboration with Unilever and UNILAG.
Lafoucriere is also the Lead of Generation Unlimited ( GenU) Nigeria.
She said the programme was part of public/private youth partnership platforms to support young people’s transition from learning to earning.
According to her, UNICEF’s partnership with Unilever through FUCAP is rooted on the shared goal of helping young people to make a smooth, successful leap from learning to earning.
“We will continue working to open doors, build bridges and help to ensure that your ideas and ambitions translate into real-world impact.
“The partnership with Unilever is a significant and important one.
“This is because the partnership is one that brings career guidance, employability skills and possibility of apprenticeships to the students of today for them to be leaders of tomorrow.
“This specific partnership has target of impacting 700,000 students with skills in three years,” the official said.
She said that within two years, the partnership already reached over five million students and impacted over 600,000.
In his remarks, Prof. Afolabi Leshi, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development Services, UNILAG, said that the programme was in line with the university’s visionary agenda known as ‘Future Ready’ designed to equip students for challenges ahead.
He said that the focus was on building well-rounded individuals.
”The university believes that the solution to the problems facing Nigeria, Nigerians and Africans lies in the hands of Africans themselves,” Leshi said.
According to him, the economy demands more than academic knowledge and requires individuals, who can think critically, solve problems creatively and navigate complex societal issues.
“To achieve this, the university is committed to developing the skills of its students and staff, enabling them to identify and tackle the problems that confront society.
“This programme is initiated to build the next generation of leaders, a crucial component of the Future Ready agenda.
”It is in line with the school’s vision of creating a university that is future-ready, where students are equipped to anticipate and address the problems of tomorrow, ” Leshi said.
The Human Resource and Employer Brand Specialist, Unilever, Oreoluwa Dina, said that the organisation’s objective of getting young people equipped with necessary skills to become relevant in workplaces was being achieved.
“From 2024 until date, we impacted over 200,000 young people across Nigeria through offline seminars like this one.
”We took them through special topics such as choosing the right path, and then curricula vitae building skills.
”Also, we are providing internship opportunities for young people so that they can also apply the skills they acquired,” the official said.
Dina said that Unilever would continue to bring up courses to continue to upskill students in various areas.
