The Government has hailed the achievements of a 120 billion shillings fund set up to facilitate competitiveness, productivity and employment for self-reliance in Uganda.
The fund, according to the Ministry of Education and Sports is aimed at equipping youth with marketable skills in fields such as; manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, ICT and agriculture. Over 30,000 youth out of 60,000 targeted by 2020 have so far benefited.
The revelation was made by Mr. James Mugerwa, the Assistant Commissioner for Vocational Education while launching the National Skills Fair in Kampala at the beginning of April 2019.
The fair will bring together exhibitors including producers and manufacturers, employers, and training institutions to interact for training and work opportunities.
“The Ministry has been working with Enabel and Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) to skill Ugandans through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) and Skills Development Facility respectively. The National Skills Fair is an opportunity for us to showcase the achievements of both funds,” Mugerwa says.
The fair to be held at UMA multipurpose hall from 7th – 9th May, 2019 will also showcase new approaches of financing skills development focusing on training that matches labour market needs.
“The innovative approaches employed in training have enabled several SDF beneficiaries to get employed while others have started their own businesses,” says Ruth Byinzika Musoke, the Head SDF at PSFU.
Christine Karungi, the SDF Manager at Enabel says the fair will be an opportunity for training institutions to interact with employers. This, she says will ensure that training responds to the needs of the labour market.
The government through the Skilling Uganda strategy launched in 2012 continues to emphasize skills development.
“We have to complete our training cycle. We train the head, the heart but we didn’t include the hands. That is the basis of a lot of our unemployment,” said Education Minister Janet Museveni, while officiating at a skills dialogue in 2017.
The video below gives highlights of speeches delivered by Ruth Byinzika Musoke, the Head Skills Development Fund at PSFU, James Mugerwa, the Assistant Commissioner for Vocational Education and Christine Karungi, the SDF Manager at Enabel during the press conference held at the ministry of education on 2nd April 2019.
The SDF prioritizes support to the following five key sectors as per Uganda’s National Development Plan.These include;
- Agriculture
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Oil and Gas
- Tourism and Hospitality
You can follow the updates of the skills fair by using the hashtag #Skills4jobs on social media
@Parliament_Ug MPs speak on the #NationalSkillsFair. Hon @AdekeAnna the National Female Youth MP speaks on the importance of skills and creativity and how many youth earn a living off them. The Skills Fair from May 7th-9th will have more discussion on these issues. #Skills4Jobs pic.twitter.com/6weFOVz8Dz
— Ultimate Multimedia (@ultimate_UMC) April 8, 2019
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