The situation for the youth in Uganda it seems to be a real drama. We all know that if young people are left behind no society can achieve its full potential. Unfortunately, this stamen is not always taken into consideration by the governments or the private companies. Uganda has a huge problem of youth unemployment and must be solved in the next few years, we must react on time. The figures of the drama are not so clear: official youth unemployment is 13% (ILO) and unofficial one near 83% (African Development Bank).
According to a report by Uganda’s Government, economy bolstered by generous foreign direct investment, grew faster than the median growth rate in sub-Saharan Africa, but less than 10 % of its young people found work in this bustling economy of new private sector jobs. Even among the employed, wages are depressed. Only 10% of private sector employees earn more than 300,000 Ugandan shillings. In the shrinking public sector, pay is declining even further, the report states. Another report confirms that unemployment is lower among people with no education, who are, presumably, not rejecting blue-collar jobs. On the coming lines, we collect two opinions showing that a change in the youth employment policies is in urgent need:
On the one hand, Venansius Baryamureeba, the founder of the Uganda Technology and Management University stays that “more than 80% of the students at university do degree courses in humanities and social sciences. Yet the number of jobs for such graduates is limited”. Curriculums are rarely informed by changes in the labour market, he says. On the other hand, Rebecca Kukundakwe, who led the Action Aid study on youth unemployment as project coordinator at Action Aid International Uganda, cautions that “just giving young people a sack of money does not work. Unless the government addresses the question of youth employment with systematic programming, we are sitting on a time bomb.”
In summary, Sustainable Development Goals are essential to ensure sustainable future for Ugandan youth. The 25-27 of September will held in New York City, in the United Nation a summit to discuss and to boost the 17 goals.
Entrepreneurship, a difficult journey
In relation with an All Africa article, more than 80-90% of the new businesses started each year fail worldwide within the first five years of operation. We need more of entrepreneurship education which equips students with the additional knowledge, attributes and capabilities required to apply these abilities in the context of setting up a new venture or business. Ugandan youth and the rest of Africa have entrepreneurial ideas but what they lack is nurturing. It is always difficult to find a person who is ready to listen to young people and offer advice. Secondly, there are no designated places where youth can walk in and talk to experts about their entrepreneurial ventures.
