Unskilled youth a huge barrier to national development

_______________

OPINION

By Sanjay Rughani

I was recently captivated by an article in our local newspaper whose headline read; “Limited skills curtailing youth employment.”

The article stated that one of the reasons several sectors in Uganda are failing to employ most of the youth is because they lack technical skills and that several organisations source for talent abroad, which is increasing youth unemployment in Uganda.

The article further quoted a 2021 Uganda national labour force survey which points to a lack of practical skills in digital and entrepreneurial skills as well as lack of soft skills such as managerial, social, emotional, communication as limiting improvements in productivity among many Ugandan youth. The survey further blamed the country's education system, saying that it is not fully aligned with the labour force needed hence the current mismatch of skills and competences for entrepreneurship and employability.

As a leader who invests a lot of personal and professional time and effort in empowering youth, fosters an environment where youth thrive and ensures youth voices are heard and opportunities are availed for them to develop and grow; I read this article with increased concern.

Its undeniable that the gap between the skills demanded by employers and those possessed by young job seekers is widening alarmingly.

According to the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2023, nearly 60% of employers report a significant skills mismatch in their workforce, with technology, digital literacy and problem-solving topping the list of in-demand skills, given the technological revolution that continues to reshape organisations.

This disconnect poses a pressing challenge for the youth, who are entering the job market unprepared for the demands of a digitised and globalised workplace.

The fact that a staggering 41.1% of youth in Uganda aged18 to 30 years are not in employment, education or training and are instead engaged in activities that are low skill, low earning, low productivity is a disaster and a great impediment to national development which a recipe for disaster, if this trend is not solved.

I know that various organisations are running various youth skilling initiatives and the government has undertaken several drastic measures to solve the curriculum gaps by unveiling a new secondary school curriculum which is very commendable, however, more effort by all stakeholders is needed.

Our youth need to be pointed in the right direction and to be confident that they can apply and participate in the various skilling opportunities.

As Standard Chartered Bank Uganda, we appreciate the great value and role youth play in spearheading innovations, bringing fresh perspectives to situations, ideation, creativity, adaptability, enthusiasm, and a forward-thinking approach. We are, therefore, making a fundamental contribution to bridge the skills gap within and outside our organisation.

Internally, over 24% of our Bank workforce is made up of youth, six (6) of whom are in leadership positions while externally we are partnering with several development partners like Voluntary Service Overseas, Challenges Worldwide, Sightsavers, Cordaid and BRAC Uganda and Government to deliver skilling programmes.

Some of our skilling programmes include the Goal project, the youth to work programme, the youth in agribusiness programme, the youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and decent employment programme and the “Ready for Inclusive Sustainable Employment and Entrepreneurship (RISE-E)” Project.

With an investment of sh3.3b funding from the Standard Chartered Foundation, our skilling programmes last year alone impacted a total of over 15,598 youth with our Goal project having empowered more than 12,963 female youths from low-income communities last year and 480,000 female youths since inception.

On the other hand, last year, we invested sh1.5b in a youth empowerment, entrepreneurship and decent employment programme implemented in partnership with Voluntary Services Overseas.

The programme skills and supports the financial inclusion of 500 youths to access both non-formal and formal financing opportunities and contribute to the creation of an enabling and supportive institutional policy and advocacy environment for entrepreneurship and employment in productive sectors.

The youth to work programme delivered by ‘Challenges Worldwide’ since 2022 has skilled 45 Junior Associates through placements in 32 SMEs while in June this year we launched a “Ready for Inclusive Sustainable Employment and Entrepreneurship (RISE-E)” Project at a cost of sh3b to improve employment prospects for young people with disabilities and support youth-led businesses.

Let me conclude by sharing our impact through the inspiring story of one of our youth to work programme beneficiaries - Vincent who said our project elevated his career from unemployment to managerial status.

Vincent narrated to us that he had been unemployed and had applied for various job opportunities in vain before applying to our youth to work programme after seeing an online advert.

Our programme placed him at House of Rehoboth Uganda Limited, a company that manufactures detergents and disinfectants like hand wash, liquid soap and other cleaning products in Maganjo. It employs 100% youth, including the owner.

As a junior associate, his main aim at the enterprise was to support the company improve its management, sales and marketing strategies. He introduced social media marketing, and the organisation started running Facebook Ads. He also opened an online shop on Jumia, and their products benefited from the digital visibility.

All the above strategies increased the company sales to a record high of sh50m. The proprietor believed in Vincent’s abilities and always endorsed his ideas with all the support he needed.

Our youth to work programme, therefore, enabled him and many other youths acquire employable skills, and he acknowledges he is where he is because of our programme which opened doors that took him from a junior associate to a manager of House of Rehoboth, and now he's working with Mastercard Foundation.

I, therefore, encourage our youth to take charge of their destiny, be curious, bold and take advantages of the several upskilling opportunities.

The writer is the chief executive officer of Standard Chartered Bank Uganda