Graduates urged to build strong domain expertise to boost employability

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Graduates have been urged to shift focus from general qualifications to strong domain expertise as employers increasingly demand specialised skills to match fast-changing workplace needs.

Industry and education leaders say the job market is rewarding depth over breadth, with employers prioritising candidates who demonstrate clear mastery in specific fields such as digital technologies, data analytics, artificial intelligence and other emerging disciplines.

The call came during a human resource conclave hosted by ISBAT University on April 18, 2026, which brought together more than 80 organisations, mainly HR leaders and industry practitioners, to discuss how to better align education with labour market needs.

Milton Stephen Owor, chief people and culture officer at the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Uganda, said graduates must deliberately build competence in defined professional areas if they are to remain competitive.

“Winning in today’s world is not about being average but about excellence and distinct value,” Owor said, urging young professionals to invest in specialised skills beyond formal academic qualifications.

He noted that while degrees at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels remain important, they are no longer sufficient on their own without practical expertise anchored in a specific domain.

Domain expertise can be defined as “insider knowledge” that enables someone to solve complex problems within a specific field that a generalist may not even recognise.

“For example, while a general IT professional may know how to set up a network, a cybersecurity expert understands the specific threat landscape. Similarly, a general mechanic can change your oil, but a diesel specialist has domain expertise in high-compression engines,” he said.

Owor also warned that rapid changes driven by automation, artificial intelligence and shifting workforce demands are reshaping job roles, making adaptability and specialisation equally important.

He challenged graduates to position themselves strategically within industries by developing a deep understanding of their chosen fields rather than spreading their efforts too broadly.

Dr Pradeep Kumar, director of studies at ISBAT University, said the persistent mismatch between graduates and available jobs is largely driven by weak specialisation.

He said many graduates enter the labour market with broad theoretical knowledge but lack the specific competencies required by employers.

“The issue is not the absence of jobs, but the mismatch of skills,” Dr Kumar said, adding that stronger collaboration between universities and industry is needed to build job-ready, specialised talent.

ISBAT University vice chancellor Prof Matthew Kalmatacal said the institution is already integrating competency-based education and training, which emphasises practical and specialised skills development, ahead of its full national rollout in 2027.

He said the university has introduced extended internship programmes to expose students to real workplace environments where domain expertise is developed.

“Every student is supposed to go for an internship of four to five months in the second year and again in the final year,” he said, noting that the aim is to produce graduates with practical competence in their fields.

Participants at the conclave stressed that developing strong domain expertise requires closer alignment between universities and industry, with employers providing continuous input on evolving skills needs.

They pointed to fast-growing sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital transformation and data science as areas where specialised skills are increasingly in demand.

The discussions underscored a broader shift in Uganda’s labour market expectations from generalist qualifications to specialised, performance-driven expertise that enhances employability and innovation.