Cross-section of MasterCrafters at the training venue
NerdzFactory Company and Research Links completed the MasterCrafters Assessment and Training Programme in April 2026, certifying 201 skilled tradespeople across ten trades in Lagos, Nigeria, as structured mentors ready to develop the next generation of apprentices. NerdzFactory Company and Research Links are in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and Digital Opportunity Trust. The MasterCrafters Assessment and Training Programme was delivered under the Indigenous Apprenticeship to Work Programme, which is implemented as part of the Employee Innovation Fund, a shared commitment to driving sustainable change in Nigeria’s informal skills economy by investing in the people who already hold the knowledge.
The majority of Nigeria’s workforce operates within the informal sector, yet the apprenticeship system through which most young people acquire trade skills has long operated without structure, formal accountability, or any pathway to certification. NerdzFactory Company and Research Links designed an approach that worked from the ground up, mobilising experienced craftspeople from across Lagos communities, assessing them for technical competence and mentorship readiness, and equipping them with the frameworks needed to teach with intention.
