During the Founder’s NYSC year, something deeper began to unfold.

There were many late conversations with fellow corps members — honest, vulnerable conversations about the future. A common fear kept surfacing. Everywhere we looked, companies and organizations were asking for two to five years of experience for entry-level roles.

And the question on everyone’s mind was simple but heavy:

“How do I have experience when I haven’t been given a job?”

That question refused to go away.

It became clear that the real problem wasn’t just unemployment. It was the widening gap between what we were taught in school and what employers actually expected in the workplace. Degrees were not translating into readiness. Talent was present, but practical exposure was missing.

That realization sparked a mission.

The focus shifted to finding practical, structured ways to bridge that gap — to equip students, graduates, and professionals with real-world skills, tools, and applied knowledge that make them workplace-ready.

From that vision, Pengrad Education and Capacity Development Company Ltd,  popularly known as Pengrad, was born.