Oxfam together with partners Community Empowerment for Rural Development (CEFORD), Uganda Youth Network (UYONET) and Youth Arts, Development and Entrepreneurship Network (YADEN) have called for a shift in Uganda’s education curriculum to include Vocational, Life skills and Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) skills, as a strategy to promote youth voice and address youth unemployment, which will in turn unlock their full potential. Youth unemployment poses economic and social challenges to Uganda, since it is one of the contributors of high poverty levels across the country.
This call was made during a Youth-led exhibition held at Hotel Africana under the theme ‘Empowering Youth, Unleashing Potential’ during which youth engaged various stakeholders from Government, Private sector, Development partners and Civil Society. The youth also showcased their ICT, Agri-business and Youth Voice intervention projects supported by Oxfam and its partners through which they have been empowered to unleash their underlying potential.
According to the UN Population Fund State of Uganda Population Report, Uganda has the world’s youngest population with over 78 percent of the total population of 37 Million people being below the age of 30, and 52 percent being below the age of 15. According to Uganda National Bureau of Statistics, Uganda has 75percent of its youth either unemployed or under employed which is majorly due to issues surrounding an education system that does not offer life skills. ILO report Global ‘Employment Trends for Youth 2013 – A Generation at Risk’ further stresses that “The problem of unemployment is greatly linked to lack of skills. Training institutions continue to produce graduates whose skills do not match what the market wants. This mismatch makes it harder to tackle youth unemployment.”
Furtherstill, in Uganda a total of 400,000 youth arereleased into the job market after graduating to compete for only 90,000 available jobs. Those with extra skills including negotiation, articulation therefore thrive the competition. The Government of Uganda recognizes these challenges associated with its rising population and youth unemployment rate and has put in place some policies and programmes to address these challenges but more needs to be done.
According to the Country Director OXFAM Uganda Peter Kamalingin who was speaking at the Youth-led exhibition, ‘Oxfam believes that the issues youth are faced with will be addressed only if there is a comprehensive shift in the education curriculum to include vocational, life skills and ICT skilling as a vital component of increasing opportunities for youth employability by tailoring them to the labour market demands.’
He further said; “The demographic trends in Uganda show that one of the most reasonable things for any development actor, any government to do is to focus on the youth. 78% of Uganda’s population is below the age of 30. They therefore represent the future and the potential of the country. It’s the countries anchor for energy, innovations and ideas. It is a present and future market, and for the politicians, it’s a voting bloc.
We all must have heard of the so called “demographic dividend” i.e. the economic growth that can occur when a population shifts from one with many dependents and comparatively few working-age people to one of many working-age people with fewer dependents. Yes demographic dividends have helped produce unprecedented economic growth in several East Asian countries.
The Republic of Korea, for example, saw its per-capita gross domestic product grow about 2,200 per cent between 1950 and 2008.
However, when you do not design and implement policies that tap into this youthful population, then really, demographic dividend just remains it – a Potential”. In fact, in some cases, it can turn out to be a threat to the future stability of a country. So for me “The demographic dividend is not automatic, It is a window of opportunity” which awaits to be exploited.
This is why we invited you in your different forms and capacities in the hope that we together can jointly define a route to scale up every good idea. It is why we must continue documenting ideas and why we must continue these types of conversations. The governance and political issues in Uganda should be resolved peacefully because the young unemployed people are as much a threat as they are an opportunity.
The youth initiatives being implemented by Oxfam and partners fall under three categories:
1) ICT for youth Empowerment
This category provides youth with ICT knowledge and skills. Oxfam works with its partners to empower youth in schools, and more especially out-of-school youth in ICT. Such initiatives include Arua Bits and Youth Livelihood which provides youth with knowledge in web design, IT skills, creative multimedia and entrepreneurship to improve their opportunities in employment or entrepreneurship.
2) Agribusiness
This category aims at empowering youth to engage in agriculture as business, making it accessible, gainful and attractive to young people through a change of attitude as promoted through reduced negative narrative about farming and engaging inspirational creative and innovative methodologies. Such initiatives include Cool Farming, Youth Champion and Mentorship and NUSSEEP to empower youth with both technical/entrepreneur skills as wellas soft skill sets for mindset change.
3) Youth as active citizens
This category involves youth exploring the challenges they face, possible solutions and interventions to be heard. Through this, youth are encouraged to speak up, engage duty bearers such that policies and programs are not made for youth, but rather with the youth as they are better placed to articulate their needs. Such initiatives include Young @ Heart, Youth livelihood and Youth Champion and Mentorship.
Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan once remarked that ‘Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace. If, however, they are left on society’s margins, all of us will be impoverished. Let us ensure that all young people have every opportunity to participate fully in the lives of their societies.’
Kamalingin further added that in today’s social political dynamics, the integral power of the youth as a tangible resource for the evolution of different societies cannot be underscored. The challenge has been on how the perceived whims of ‘youth-hood’ can be engaged and trusted in key decision making and development processes. Understanding the dynamics of the ‘youth-hood’ stage and capacitating them in the right way can harness the great endowments and prosperity that this great stage of life can offer.
Kamalingin concluded by noting that Oxfam will continue to model initiatives to generate evidence and best practice that inform its advocacy for qualitative change in the vocational skills, educational curriculum and agricultural reforms.
