Apply Now to Join our April Cohort

Our Core life skills training will kickstart in April 2024. You can join the cohort if you are between 18 and 35 years old and reside in the FCT, Abeokuta, and Kano City. If you are looking forward to becoming more attractive to employers or starting a business, you can apply to join our award-winning sessions. At YouthPrep, we support young people in making key choices about their financial future that fit their personality and ambition and provide support to increase the likelihood that they are doing decent work.

An illustrative process flow of YouthPrep

What You Should Expect

This is a 5-day in-person core life skills program. Some participants will be admitted to the 3-week online version of this course.

On concluding the core life skills program, you will take a human-centred design (HCD) self-assessment test to decide whether to take the employability or entrepreneurship pathway. It is up to you to decide, but the assessment helps.

For those who take the employability pathway, you will be admitted into a 4-5 week employability program. You will join a 5-day in-person (3 weeks if online), 10-module employability training and a 3-week mentorship program. The employability mentorship program will utilize the HCD approach to help review job goals, CVs, Cover letters, and online profiles and improve social behaviours or habits that attract employers.

For those who take the entrepreneurship pathway, you will be admitted into a 4-5 week entrepreneurship program. You will join a 5-day in-person (3 weeks if online), 10-module entrepreneurship training and a 3-week mentorship program. The entrepreneurship mentorship program will entail leveraging on HCD to review the business canvas, start-up budget, business plan, envisioning financing (business bank account) and legal status (formalization), starting the business with a Minimum Viable Product, and linking entrepreneurs with other business incubation hubs and Technical Vocation and Education (TVET) centres.

At the heart of each level of intervention, our specialists will carry out a mix of randomized control trials and longitudinal pretest-posttest to document lessons and validate the impact of our interventions.Cloneshouse Foundation for African Development and its affiliates will recruit promising young participants to join their team, and intellectual support will be provided for participants who choose the entrepreneurship pathway.

Updated Expected Timelines

May 30, 2024: Application Closes

July 5, 2024: Successful Candidates Announced

August 5, 2024: Successful Candidates onboarding/orientation

August 12, 2024: Successful Candidates admitted to online or in-person training

October 11, 2024: Certification

October 31, 2024: Internship begins

Eligibility/Criteria

It is strongly advised that applicants should not have any other employment or business as this would conflict with the Youthprep programme and make engagement difficult by successful candidates.

• Be a Nigerian citizen based in Nigeria.
• Be 18 or older by May 15, 2024, and be no older than 35.
• Be available to participate in the Youthprep boot camp and onboarding fully.
• Be available to participate fully in the Youthprep programme.
• Be able to read, write and speak in English (the program is offered in English)
• Be respectful, direct, and culturally sensitive.
• Individuals from all gender, academic and professional backgrounds and different abilities are welcome to apply. 
• Youth at risk of marginalization, such as people with disabilities (PWDs), returning migrants, young mothers, and those residing in informal settlements and rural areas, are strongly encouraged to apply.

Benefits

• Contribute to youth economic empowerment in Nigeria: Connect and collaborate with young men and women, communities and global partners.
• Coaching and mentorship via blended learning approaches including online and in-person trainings, on-the-job-learning, and structured tutorials.
• Personal and professional growth: You’ll receive unique opportunities to boost your CV and build digital and transferable skills. 
• Access to high-quality training and resources.
• Opportunities to share and learn from peers.