Gov't pledges increased support for youth apprenticeship

KAMPALA - The government has pledged to further support youths under different apprenticeship programmes in order to bridge the employability gaps.

Meantime, the government has urged all stakeholders to prioritize hands-on training to promote the culture of setting up different business modules.

Kyateka Mondo, the commissioner for youth affairs at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, said: "Investing in the young people creates a good precedent of developing a nation because these youths can create opportunities for fellow youths."

This was during a graduation ceremony of 300 youths under the Youth Engaged Programme (YEP) in Kawempe.

The YEP programme is facilitated by Century Entrepreneurship Development Agency (CEDA) International.

Recently, cabinet approved the national youth policy and action plans and under the policy, in any transformation approach of the country, the youths should be involved.

Dr. Eric Akinyele, officer at United Nations Population Fund (UNPF), observes that most training in Uganda is tailored to looking for jobs.

Akinyele advised trainers to ensure that young people are trained to provide human resource coupled with identifying viable projects.

According to Rehmah Kasule, President at CEDA International, there is need for increased skilling to help empower youth business skills. She talks of the need for mentorship and value-based leadership to ignite the potential of youths.

"We need to push these young people to develop business plans and ensure they come up with better brands through a robust marketing strategy."