Under skilling and unemployment of underserved youth in Uganda There are nearly 10.5 million Ugandans between 15 and 29 years of age. Many young people are engaged in activities that are low-skill, low-earning, low-productivity, and low value-added. The 2021 Uganda National Labour Force Survey showed that 41.1% of youth aged 18 – 30 in Uganda were not in employment, education, or training. Employers across formal and informal sectors in Uganda say the lack of practical, digital, and entrepreneurial skills, as well as a lack of soft skills—such as managerial, communication, and socio-emotional—are limiting improvements in productivity

of youth in Uganda drop out before completing secondary education.

of youth in vocational training institute in Ugandan do not use their vocational skills to earn money, partly due to the fact that they are not adequately prepared to use them in the world of work.

World’s Youngest Population

of Ugandans are under the age of 15 and 78% are younger than 30.

Education Level

of Ugandans have attained some or completed primary education. Only 5.1% have acquired an education above secondary level.

Youth Unemployment

of Ugandan youth are not formally employed for wages. Youth ages 15 to 30 make up 83% of Uganda’s unemployed.

Youth Poverty Rates

Highest youth poverty rates

The Youth Watch 2012 points out that nearly one in every three youth in Uganda has received some form of vocational training. Unfortunately, it found that skills’ training is no guarantee of utilizing skills for income-generation. Nearly half of all youth are not using their skills productively for income-generation.

The challenge of unemployment for youth who do not complete school is even greater. Youth are uninformed about the job market and the local economy. Many report not knowing what sort of skills and goods are marketable and identify social challenges as being very concerning.

This is the gap Wezesha Impact seeks to address.

Empowering the Community through Threads.

Ajok Irene is a skilled tailor in northern Uganda’s Gulu district. She started her tailoring workshop after gaining experience working for a friend. Through the Wezesha Impact program, Irene learned valuable skills in record-keeping and inventory management.

During the COVID-19 lockdown, her well-stocked materials ensured the survival of her business while others closed down. Irene’s efforts have continued to attract new customers, allowing her to expand her workshop from one to five sewing machines.

Irene’s success enables her to support her family. She is also passionate about empowering young women in her community and conducts tailoring trainings to uplift and empower fellow girls.

Uganda has an acute youth unemployment challenge largely caused by a mismatch between the demand and supply of labour. World Bank data shows that while about 700,000 young people reach working age every year in Uganda, only 75,000 jobs are created each year. There is a perpetual scarcity of full-time wage jobs, owing to the shortage of firms relative to the supply of labour. Low private investment leads to few wage employment opportunities in urban areas and even fewer in rural areas. If labour demand does not increase, interventions simply redistribute employment opportunities by offering jobs to a select few at the expense of the majority. This is compounded by the gaps in the overall education system in Uganda. The education experience is not fully aligned with labour force needs, leading to a mismatch of skills and competencies for entrepreneurship and or employability.

As a result, most youth are self-employed in low-productivity activities in the informal sector and pursuing entrepreneurship. Approximately three out of every four youth in the labour market are self-employed. At least one in every three Ugandans is engaged in some form of entrepreneurial activity. However, most of these youth are necessity entrepreneurs (those that engage in entrepreneurship due to a lack of jobs) as opposed to being opportunity entrepreneurs (motivated by passion for and pursuit of business). Research shows that without an enabling environment and business support services, necessity entrepreneurs are less likely to survive. Uganda has one of the highest rates of business discontinuation. For every business started, nearly one other is closed. This is because the majority start as desperate necessity entrepreneurs with inadequate entrepreneurial and start-up skills, inadequate technical support services for growth and inadequate social support and networks. Due to the above environment, the Government of Uganda (GoU) has embraced youth entrepreneurship as an important avenue for job creation and economic growth.

This is where Wezesha Impact comes in.