Youths means young men and women or people of young category that are strong, tender on experience and are willing to work. They are usually strong, agile and energetic and can be very creative. Empowerment, on the other hand, can be said to be the act or process of giving a person, or group of people the legal right to do something. It is also the act of giving people power or authority to do things by equipping them with the relevant or necessary skills needed to live a meaningful life and contribute positively to the development or progress of the society and the nation at large.
Youth empowerment can therefore be defined as the process of teaching people with all the necessary skills required to live a favourable and unreliable economic life. One of the role of youth empowerment is its objective on reducing unemployment rate in a country like Nigeria. Many governments and even non-governmental organizations embark on youth empowerment programmes to ameliorate social vices in the society occasioned by the large number of graduate and non-graduate youths who are jobless and engage in odd things to make things favourable and better.
Youth empowerment involves youth being pushed and mentored to gain a skill as well as coached as they implement the skills they have acquired. The high rate of youth unemployment has made youth empowerment become necessary in Nigeria today. To stop this ugly situation that has cause real damage to the economy of the country, government has established a list of agencies like the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), National Agency For Poverty Eradication Programme(NAPEP)and most recently established, the YOU WIN programme among others.These agencies are specialized with the responsibility of recruiting all categories of youths for training and empowerment. During the course of this programmes, young ones are exposed to different skills in their respective areas of interest and thereafter given start off capital to enable them establish and practice the acquired skills.
YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SKILLS MEANING
Youth empowerment skills is referred to as the sum total of all the strategies, abilities and competencies required by a youth to live meaningfully and contribute positively to the progress of the community.
Types of empowerment skills
1.Communicative skills
2.Manipulative skills
3.Life coping skills
4.Intellectual skills
5.Artistic skills
IMPORTANCE OF YOUTH EMPOWERMENT
1.It reduces unemployment and Poverty rates in the society.
2.It makes youths independent and self-reliant.
3.It helps in the development of greater talents and potentials that are inherent in youths.
4.It makes youths to be resilient and courageous in facing all life situations.