Foreign business school empowers African youths

To help address the unemployment crisis in Africa and equip its youths, Business School Netherlands (BSN) is championing a free capacity development programme for young people on the continent.

Tagged the Business School Netherlands Youth Empowerment Scheme (BSNYESAFRICA), the programme comprises five modules, each consisting of a 13-week programme. The first module began with a two-day classroom session in Lagos with over 300 youths from the 36 states of the country and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

Chief Executive Officer of BSN, Lere Baale said the programme would run for 13 weeks through in-class and e-learning platforms. He added that youths have the opportunity to acquire mentorship support, seed-funding for outstanding ideas and networking through the BSN global networks.

While reinforcing the need for collaboration, Baale urged corporate Nigeria to partner with BSN to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship.The lead facilitator and Faculty Member of BSN, Prof. Bernie van Zuji said at the BSN youth empowerment scheme in Lagos, urged that people should be taught to use existing information and knowledge, as well as action learning to solve complex problems.

Zuji, who is also a global expert in management technology, marketing and knowledge management, was elated at the participants’ response, saying the hunger for knowledge among Nigerian youths was encouraging.

He said, “our kids should be taught how to play serious play and people should be provided with the right skills,” adding that technology must be a top priority and digital gap should be bridged.

Zuji stated that the best way to learn is to allow people learn from their mistakes and be empowered to get information anywhere, anytime and any day. Specially designed to give young African youths free training, certification, mentorship and networking opportunities to help them improve their careers and businesses, the BSN Youth Scheme #bsnYesAfrica# intends to bridge the unemployment gap by empowering 50,000 youths by 2020 through learning and development and employability skills.

It also provides a platform for action learning and funding for youths annually via collaboration and sponsors.One of the participants, Ifelaja Abisoye Charity urged people to keep learning, saying that in BSN Africa, she learnt how to brand and package and market her business. She urged job seekers to look inwards, discover their passions and interest as there was a lot they could do for themselves. Another participant, Reuben Kalu said that he needed the training because we now live in a knowledge economy.“The more we know, the more we earn. Knowledge is our earning ability, what forms what you earn is the knowledge you acquire,” Kalu stated.