Uganda’s un-employed graduates held back by skills gap

By Moses Ndhaye

Uganda has partnered with the Estonian government to support a generation of job seekers whose qualifications do not meet the requirements of the job market.

According to the skills specialist in charge of the green jobs program at the ministry of gender, labor, and social development Enoch Mutambi, the partnership with the Estonian government has enabled the acquisition of business experts who will impart skills to this group of young people

Officiating at the opening of a youth entrepreneurs training at the Innovation Village in Ntinda, Mutambi said currently in Uganda, the skills set gap is one of the major challenges faced by young people, with over 700,000 youth entering the job market annually, to compete for only about 9,000 jobs.

Lack of skills is a global problem, the international labor organization says training institutions continue to produce graduates whose skills do not match the job market requirements.

This mismatch makes it harder to tackle youth unemployment.

Written by Noelyn Nassuuna