Funmi Ogundare
Sara Foundation Africa has equipped 700 young Nigerian graduates with workplace-ready skills and referred 696 qualified participants into the candidate pool of the Nigerian Jubilee Fellows Programme (NJFP), following an intensive employability readiness initiative conducted in partnership with the Office of the Vice-President.
The Founder, Sara Foundation Africa, Sarah Inem Kalu, disclosed that the initiative, delivered through its Graduate Journey Pathway (GJP), attracted more than 1,000 applications within one week, exceeding its initial target of preparing and referring 500 graduates for the Federal Government’s flagship graduate placement programme.
The programme was implemented in collaboration with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Delivery and Coordination, with the objective of strengthening the pathway between education and employment while preparing young graduates for opportunities in Nigeria’s evolving labour market.
According to her, several participants have already progressed to interviews, psychometric assessments and final-stage recruitment processes, with some securing placements with host organisations through the NJFP.
The five-day programme, delivered through 10 live virtual learning sessions, focused on practical workplace readiness rather than theoretical training.
Participants were trained in aptitude and psychometric assessment preparation, professional CV development, interview preparation, communication and presentation, LinkedIn optimisation and professional branding, artificial intelligence tools for workplace productivity, emotional intelligence, teamwork, goal setting, career planning and progression.
Kalu said the virtual format enabled graduates from different parts of Nigeria to participate while ensuring that the programme remained aligned with NJFP eligibility requirements, including graduation period, National Identification Number ( NIN) verification and completion of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC) programme.
She explained that the initiative demonstrated the impact that could be achieved when government and private-sector organisations collaborate to create practical pathways from education to employment.
She stated: “Talent is everywhere across Africa, but opportunity is not. At Sara Foundation Africa, we exist to bridge that gap by creating practical pathways that prepare young people for success in today’s digital economy.”
Kalu said the foundation measured the success of its programmes not merely by the number of people trained, but by the opportunities created and lives transformed through access to employment and further learning.
She added that the NJFP initiative formed part of the foundation’s broader commitment to digital inclusion and workforce development across Africa.
The founder noted that the GJP initiative was delivered using its learning and development infrastructure, Train AI, an AI workplace intelligence platform.
She added that its workforce development efforts were anchored on three flagship programmes; CAP, FLIP and Education Journey Pathways (EJP), designed to provide young people with access to digital education, mentorship, employability skills and structured progression opportunities.
“We currently work across 11 African countries in partnership with more than 35 universities, with a reach of about 6,000 Africans,” she said.
Also speaking on the partnership, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Delivery and Coordination, Akubo Adegbe, noted that employers had a role beyond simply recruiting skilled workers.
“They are also partners in developing the quality of Nigeria’s workforce. Employers are not just consumers of talent, they are co-producers of workforce quality. Nigeria’s workforce transformation cannot be driven by government alone,” he said.
