The Office of the Vice President’s Delivery Unit (OVP-DU), in collaboration with the European Union, will convene key stakeholders across government, the private sector and development institutions for the National Skills and Industry Alignment Roundtable Series scheduled to take place on March 24, 2026 in Abuja.
Speaking ahead of the event, Strategic Partnership Lead at the Office of the Vice President Delivery Unit, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, said the inaugural roundtable, themed ‘Bridging Skills Supply and Labour Market Demand’, is designed to strengthen collaboration among actors in Nigeria’s job creation ecosystem and address the long-standing disconnect between workforce skills and labour market needs.
Imoukhuede explained that while several job creation programmes and investments currently exist across government institutions, development partners and the private sector, many of them operate in isolation, resulting in fragmented implementation and limited measurable impact.
According to him, the roundtable series is conceived as a structured, high-level platform that will bring together policymakers, investors, employers, academia and ecosystem enablers to jointly identify bottlenecks and develop coordinated solutions for employment generation and enterprise growth.
He noted that the first session will build on previous engagements conducted by the Delivery Unit, including a national mapping of job creation initiatives and a high-level policy dialogue held in 2025.
He added that the roundtable will also provide an opportunity for stakeholders involved in skills training and enterprise development to outline their programmes and identify areas for collaboration.
Among organisations expected to be spotlighted during the session are the Nigeria Directorate of Employment, the International Labour Organization, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Mastercard Foundation, the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association and the Nigeria Economic Summit Group.
The roundtable is expected to provide clearer insight into industry skills demand, strengthen value-chain linkages and help identify practical interventions that can accelerate job creation across the country.
