How Uganda can make job creators

EMPLOYMENT 

The talk of job creation has been going on as far as I can remember and yet not much is being done to make it a reality. 

One of the most detrimental issues is the white-collar job syndrome that the education sector has failed to erase from the minds of both the old and the young people. 

Most of the people in Uganda are looking for employment,  instead of creating it. It is very easy to create a job other than looking for one.

It is embarrassing to have a  Senior Six certificate holder who cannot even make a samosa or pancake. So, if we are at that level of ignorance, what will happen when it comes to creating a serious job profile? 

Changing the mindset of  Ugandans concerning job creation is key. The Government just needs to put measures in place that will force, especially  Senior Six leavers, to learn how to create their own jobs, instead of going to higher education and after graduation, they begin struggling to get into the job market.

Way forward

There are lots of employment and job creation opportunities in the informal sector in which the Government must place  emphasis for the elite ambitious students to take advantage of.  I can see a good opportunity that the legislators can look into to improve the livelihoods of  Ugandans. 

After Senior Six, each student should enlist for a six-months or nine-months apprenticeship in bicycle repair, motorcycle repair,  catering, decoration, music,  car repair, radio repair, phone repair, tailoring and voluntary health care programmes in hospitals and communities. 

After nine months, the candidate should be able to demonstrate some of the skills learnt from the apprenticeship they have been pursuing, either formally or informally. 

Upon admission to an institution of higher learning,  the student must give evidence of the apprentice training.  This initiative will drive the mind of students off white-collar job expectations to creating their own employment after graduation, using the skills acquired. 

Secondly, this can be a source of income for the students as they pursue their education.  Without envisaging the need to reprogramme the minds of students, the country will continue to suffer unmeasurable levels of unemployment.  Kiyimba is an educator