N-power 2020 Recruitment: All you need to know

*Application portal opens on the 26th of June, 2020
*All you need to know to succeed 

The N-power recruitments follow laid down processes which I will, having worked in the coordination of the N-power program for years, guide you on how to excel in each of the processes. 

But before then, the N-power program, established in 2016, is an initiative of the President Mohammadu Buhari led administration aimed at providing requisite knowledge and skills which would enable the graduate beneficiaries to compete above edge in the job market, and equally serve as a linkage between the trained beneficiaries and essential job.

The N-power program core design was necessitated by the evidence of low skills which stand against inexperienced young graduates in getting jobs, at a time even entry level jobs require at least 2years Job experience. It was meant to provide requisite on-the-job skills for the Volunteers, bridge the gap between the Volunteers and the job market while ensuring that the volunteers sustain themselves in the course of the program through a monthly Stipend of N30,000.

The N-power program has 2 categories: the Graduate and the Non-graduate Categories.

The graduate category is divided into 3 basic sub-categories as: N-Teach, N-Health and N-Agro sub-categories. N-Tax was a special sub-category of the graduate N-power which trained young Nigerians who aid in Tax collection, verification and others.

The Non-Graduate Category includes the N-build, N-creative, N-Tech, N-Software, and others.

The N-power program was designed to last for two years before which an exit strategy, a linkage to the Labour market would have been established, and the Volunteers graduated with certificates to be engaged in more paying jobs.

The N-power program was in the Office of the Vice President, where it had a design of a State focal Person/office in each State with a monitoring strategy, until October 2019 when it was moved to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The 2020 N-power Program may not last up to 2years according to the redesign and streamlining by the Minister for Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.

The Npower 2020 Recruitment

The processes involved in N-power recruitment are:

1. Application
2. Screening/Aptitude Test
3. Shortlisting
4. Verification
5. Final Shortlisting
6. On boarding
7. Posting
8. Training

1. Application: The application, which would last for about 3 weeks, involves registration on the official N-power portal www.npower.gov.ng with essential data which includes generally and specifically the following:

Note: The N-power 2020 Application Portal has been changed to https://npower.fmhds.gov.ng

N-Teach and N-Health basically for graduates and duration of 12 months. Others are for everyone and duration of 6 months.

General Requirements: Graduate Category

1. A prospective N-power Applicant must be a Nigerian between the ages of 18-35 years.
2. Must not be an employee of any organisation.
3. Must be a graduate of a College of Education, School of Health, Polytechnic or University.
4. Must possess a Discharge Certificate if Polytechnic or University Graduate
5. Must possess a functional Email address and Phone number.
6. Must possess a valid BVN and Account Number
7. Must have a means of Identification such as Voters Card, National Identification (NIN), or Passport.

Specific Requirements: Graduate Category

1. N-Teach: Must possess a degree in any discipline including NCE and OND, Find more

2. N-Health: Selection Preference: A degree or OND in Health Sciences such as Medicine, Microbiology, Nursing, Public Health, Botany, Midwifery, Psychology or other allied disciplines in the sciences. See preferred Discipline here. Find More

3. N-Agro: Selection Preference: Bachelor’s degree, HND or OND in Nutrition, Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Economics, Agronomy, Animal Science, Crop Science, Food Science & Technology, and other agro related disciplines. Find more

2. Screening/Aptitude Test: About 2 weeks after the end of the Application, about 4 million applicants that would apply for the program would be scheduled for an aptitude test. It will consist of about 20 questions on General Knowledge, Quantity Reasoning, Verbal and Course related reasoning.

At this stage, more than 200,000 people would not write the test as a result of excess traffic on the website, forgetfulness, lack of tech ability and System disqualification.

To stand a chance and avert system disqualification, a prospective volunteer must ensure the following during application (filling of form):

1. Ensure that the name on your BVN tally with your  Bank Account Name. That’s, if the Surname on your BVN is Balogun, it must be Surname on your Account Name. Also, If your First Name is Ade, it must be Ade as First Name in your Bank Account Name.

2. You must follow the pattern of Surname, First Name and Middle Name, or First Name, Middle Name and Last Name as it is in your BVN and Account Name.

3. Ensure you possess all requirements needed in the application.

4. Ensure no mistake during Application.

3. Pre-Selection/Shortlisting: After the test, the first selection is made based on certain criteria such as the time taken to complete the test, test accuracy etc. Endeavour to Score High and take shorter time in writing the test, with a very good network. More than 60% of the Applicants would have been screened out at this stage.

4. Verification: The first Shortlisted Applicants are screened at this stage. The screening process involves the selected volunteers moving down to their Local Governments (usually a Local Government bearing your Residential Address). 

Here, the trained personnels would cross check the credentials you claim to possess. They would request your Original Certificates from O’Level to the highest, NYSC Discharge Certificate (If applicable), Birth Certificate or Affidavit, Means of Identification, Nepa Bill (For Confirmation of Residence) and Local Government Identification.

The verified data are Confidentiality transmitted to Abuja through a means best known to the Officials involved. [You actually do not have any business here].

5. Final Shortlisting: After the verification, the Applicants who have been confirmed to possess ‘all’ the required credentials are shortlisted in the final stage while those who may have lied or possess less of the stated requirement, or who may have been absent during the time of verification would be screened out and end their N-power journey.

6. On-Boarding: After the final Shortlisting, the final lists are sent to the States. Congratulatory messages are sent to the successful applicant who would now ‘on-board’ on the NPVN (N-power Volunteer Network) platform where you can manage your profile.

Essentially, the process of on-Boarding involves uploading of your passport, ID and later, your posting letter. It involves cross-checking your details including your account number, to ensure all details are correct.

7. Posting: As an N-power Beneficiary, you have a job to do, gather skills and knowledge, impart in your community and graduate in prosperity.

The N-Teach Beneficiaries are posted to Schools within their places of residence through the State Ministries of Education and Educational Bodies while N-Health beneficiaries are posted to Health Centers within their places of Residence through the States Ministries of Health.

The N-Agro Beneficiaries are posted to different Agricultural zones, Blocks and Circles within their Communities of Residence through the States Ministries of Agriculture.

8. Training: N-power is a work, learn and earn program. As much as your growth and development as a youth is important to the Federal Government, you must be trained and retrained at intervals.

At first, the different ministries would organise a concise and specific training in each of the fields of Education, Health and Agriculture.

Then later, the beneficiaries would be exposed to the world of learning and information. You would be exposed to digital training especially with Google, IBM, etc and other specific training relating to your individual fields.

All the processes of N-power recruitment would take between 4 months to 6 months 

I wish you all good luck.