Several countries all over the globe are grappling with rising proportions of unemployed youth below the age of 30. It is against this background that the Government of Uganda has prioritized job creation among the youth.

There are various government programmes like: Skilling Uganda and the Youth Venture Capital Fund, which intervene in the skills gaps and access to investment funds, respectively, in a bid to reduce unemployment and enhance innovation among the youth.

About 75% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30.  It is against this background that the Government of Uganda has prioritized job creation among the youth.

There are various government programmes like: Skilling Uganda and the Youth Venture Capital Fund, which intervene in the skills gaps and access to investment funds, respectively, in a bid to reduce unemployment and enhance innovation among the youth.

The job market in Uganda cannot absorb all the graduates leaving learning institutions every year in addition to the semi and unskilled youth.   The cardinal objective underlying Uganda Investment Authority’s mandate to promote and facilitate investment, is the creation of employment in the country.  In partnership with Vantage Communications, a business consultancy firm, Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) jointly initiated a Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP) that prepares young educated youth for the option of self-employment by equipping them to become service providers. This program offers a mutually beneficial partnership that will improve the employability of and provide skills to the unemployed youth by offering the opportunity to work (voluntarily) with the micro and small businesses in Kampala initially. The programme’s initial main target are the fresh University graduates from different tertiary institutions including Makerere, Kyambogo UCU universities.The apprentices are equipped to provide basic support in business management; like record keeping, stock records, customer services and sales and marketing support for FREE to SMEs. The programme will be rolled out nationwide in future phases.

Apprentices undergoing UIA training at Makerere University

 

For the second year second year running, in November 2015, eighty seven (87) apprentices was trained at Makerere University at the former Faculty of Food Science and then allocated to 106 businesses to start their apprenticeship. The apprenticeship period also addresses the challenges of SMEs and groups who are unable to afford fulltime staff to provide growth business management. The apprentices help SMEs to set up simple record keeping systems and provide weekly business records. This enables them to analyse the profitability of their businesses in real time.