The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has commenced the registration of unemployed youths in Kaduna State under the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI), a Federal Government programme aimed at tackling unemployment and empowering Nigerians.
Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, the NDE State Coordinator, Mr. Francis Ambianto, said the registration exercise began on July 28 and will run until August 11, 2025.
He explained that the initiative is open to all categories of unemployed persons, regardless of their educational background.
“Skills acquisition does not have barriers. Whether you are a graduate, school dropout, or never attended school, you are eligible,” Ambianto said.
According to him, over 600 youths in Kaduna State are expected to benefit from the ongoing nationwide recruitment of 21,782 persons under the second phase of the RHEI.
He urged eligible youths between the ages of 18 and 40 to take advantage of the opportunity and register online via www.nde.gov.ng, assuring that the selection process will be strictly merit-based.
Ambianto explained that the names of beneficiaries will be sourced from the central portal managed by the NDE Headquarters in Abuja, and that no personal connections will influence the outcome.
He noted that the first phase of the initiative was highly successful, with candidates selected purely on merit, and expressed optimism that the second phase would be even more transparent and inclusive.
Training focus and programme options
Ambianto stated that selected beneficiaries would be trained on different programmes such as Rural Employment Promotion (REP), which focuses on agricultural training such as poultry, fishery, irrigation and animal fattening, among others.
Other programmes included:
- Vocational Skills Development (VSD), which offers skills like fashion design, catering, among others, Special Public Works (SPW) and Small-Scale Enterprise (SSE).
According to him, participants in these programmes would undergo three months’ training and receive a monthly transport stipend of N10,000, adding that 70% of the participants would access soft loans after the training.
Special schemes for graduates
He explained that the National Directorate of Employment would offer two additional schemes for graduates, which included: Graduate Coaching Scheme, meant to train graduates to coach Secondary School students preparing for Senior Secondary School Examination.
The other programme is the Graduate Attachment Programme, which places graduates in organizations relevant to their fields for temporary work experience.
Ambianto stated that all the beneficiaries of the graduate programme would receive N50,000 monthly stipends for three months.
More insight
The Renewed Hope Employment Initiative (RHEI) is a flagship employment scheme launched by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration to tackle rising unemployment and empower Nigerians through job creation and skills development.
Launched in early 2024 under the coordination of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE).
Focused on merit-based recruitment of beneficiaries across the 36 states and the FCT.
