In response to the challenge posed by the very high rates of unemployment or underemployment in the Niger Delta, particularly amongst the youth population, PIND with funding support from the Ford Foundation started the implementation of the Niger Delta Youth Employment Pathways (NDYEP) Project in the last quarter of 2017. The Project seeks to map the ecosystem of skills development, analyze opportunities for employment creation and develop models of youth job readiness or workforce development that will provide disadvantaged young men and women in the Niger Delta the opportunity to secure sustainable jobs and enterprises. Our approach has involved innovative and quality training that prepares selected youth with market-relevant skills and supports their transition into waged employment or self-employment /entrepreneurship.  The pilot phase of NDYEP is implemented over two years in Abia, Akwa Ibom, and Rivers States with over 1400 youth already trained in the first year of the project and another 1700 still undergoing various training in the target sectors of Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and Construction.

In 2019, PIND made the determination to expand the NDYEP program into an additional state -Delta State, starting in 2020, based on the results from the pilot phase and extensive consultations with the Delta State government. Consistent with NDYEP’s implementation framework, these terms of reference are for the engagement of consultants to conduct a youth employment/labor market assessment of Delta State that will guide the design and implementation of skills for Employment program in Delta State that is expected to commence by third quarter 2020.

The NDYEP project follows PIND’s evidence-based implementation strategy. Therefore, the proposed study is to provide PIND a better understanding of the demand and supply sides of the labor market as it relates to youth employment opportunities, the policy environment, and a skill development ecosystem in Delta State (including the GMOU areas). The findings from this market assessment will be presented to selected stakeholders for validation and inputs. The final report together with inputs from stakeholders at the validation workshop will shape the final design/implementation process for NDYEP Delta.

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