Graduates to benefit from practical skills training

In a bid to address the growing problem of numerous unemployable graduates being churned out from institutions of higher learning, BrighterMonday, Uganda’s largest job website in partnership with Boston Enterprises Uganda, Exquisite Solution, Federation of Uganda Employers, BBB, the HUB and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development have launched a one-month-long training platform dubbed ‘The BrighterMonday Graduate Program’ under the theme ‘Defining your next step.’
 
Speaking during the launch Press conference, Joshua Mugisha, Country Manager BrighterMonday said, ‘A survey conducted by the Inter-University Council for East Africa (IUCEA) in 2014 found that over 63 percent of youth in Uganda lack employability skills, technical mastery and basic work-related capabilities.

Informed by such statistics as well as the World Bank report 2014 that suggests that over 70percent of an approximated 400,000 fresh graduates in Uganda are unemployable, BrighterMonday saw the need to train and impart practical skills to over 1,000 graduates during The Brighter Monday Graduate Program scheduled to take place from 6th to 31st July 2016.
 
Mugisha added that as thousands of job seekers are created every year, the burden to train and prepare them for the working environment has been left to the employer because many of the Degrees or Diplomas awarded are not adequately tailored to match Uganda’s job market.
 
Nicholas J Okwir, the chairman Federation of Uganda Employers, a body that brings together employers in Uganda applauded The BrighterMonday Graduate Program because it is in line with FUE’s mission of enhancing employers’ competitiveness through policy advocacy, fostering best employment relations and provision of business development services.
 
Ebraheem Ssali, Managing Director, Exquisite Solutions said, ‘Through our Human Resource practice, we have encountered Information Technology graduates who cannot install anti-virus onto a computer or Bachelor of Commerce graduates that cannot prepare a balance sheet.

With this, we have realized that our graduates in Uganda today lack drive, focus and ambition, making them some of the least employable graduates in the region. It is a gap we have tried to close during our Grad Fairs that have been held during our 10 years of existence as a company. With our new partnership with BrighterMonday’s Graduate Program, we hope that young professionals’ dreams will no longer be blown away in thin air.’
 
Tom Tumwesige, Head of Service Delivery Boston Enterprises - Raises who are the facilitators of the training explained that rate of change in the job market in the 21st Century has been so rapid that formal education is failing to keep pace. ‘Graduates from both high school and University are inadequately prepared for the world of work.

Employers today require employees who can source and analyze information in an unsupervised manner and then be able to report their findings to various stakeholders. Employees have to be personally responsible with strong skills in technology, critical thinking, time management and communication.’
 
Tumwesige said, ‘The BrighterMonday Graduate Program will be preceded over by a professional team of trainers working alongside business leaders and teams, with a core focus on tutorials aimed at unlocking talent, driving productivity and improving performance. This unique training solution focuses on five core areas in employment namely: 1) Personal development, 2) Professional development, 3) Communication 4) Technology and 5) Career planning. We believe that these solutions will go a long-way in helping employers and employees to not only grow market share, improve customer care but also create systems that will ultimately allow businesses to attain their competitive advantage.’
 
Tumwesige further noted that on completion of the Brighter Monday Graduate Program, participants can expect to be highly motivated and inspired, have created a personalized step-by-step career plan which leverages strengths and improves weaknesses, have a greater understanding of technology and how to apply it in the workforce, be equipped with the necessary professional skills highly sought after by employers, have improved their communication skills both written and verbal, be better problem-solvers and critical thinkers, and finally have established essential networks with leading organisations which may ultimately lead to gainful employment.
 
The BrighterMonday Graduate Program will cost interested participants Seventy Thousand Shillings only (70,000Ushs) and is open to all Bachelors or Diploma graduates irrespective of their academic fields.
 
Mugisha concluded by thanking all the sponsors of the Program presently, those considering partnering with us on this grand venture to influence our communities and those that will join us during this program. We look forward creating a new breed of job seekers and employees that will be ready to seamlessly integrate into any work environment.