The National Youth Service Corps has expressed readiness to deepen collaboration with the European Union to advance digital support for its Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme, following a courtesy visit by Director General Brigadier General Olakunle Oluseye Nafiu to EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Gautier Mignot, at the EU Mission in Abuja.

Nafiu said staff capacity development remains critical to the effective delivery of the scheme's mandate, adding that NYSC was willing to embrace partnerships that would enhance workforce training through seminars, workshops and other capacity building initiatives.

He explained that the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development programme was introduced in 2012 in response to growing graduate unemployment, with the objective of equipping corps members with practical and entrepreneurial skills to promote self reliance and job creation. Since inception, thousands of corps members have acquired marketable skills, with many establishing businesses and attracting grants from development partners.

Mignot praised the NYSC management for institutionalising the programme, describing it as a strategic initiative with immense potential for national development that deserved broad based support. He noted that the EU's priority areas include digital technology, women and youth empowerment, agriculture, renewable energy and healthcare.

The ambassador also disclosed that some European financial institutions had commenced operations in Nigeria to expand access to financing for small and medium sized enterprises, identifying limited access to finance as one of the major challenges confronting small business owners in the country.