Employers rejecting poorly trained graduates

Unemployment in Uganda continues to soar even as thousands of students who enroll into universities every year, hope to get absorbed in the labour market straight away.

According to a report on graduate tracer and employers’ expectation studies, which keeps tabs on university former students after they leave their alma mater, presented by Uganda National Council For Higher Education (NCHE), about 173,369 of the graduates were employed from all universities in Uganda (when?), representing 53 per cent of those who found jobs in the private sector and 31.7 per cent in the public sector.

Whereas employment in the country stands at 80 per cent for the main means of livelihood, agriculture, unemployment is still rising, especially among the youth. The employment department at the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Community Development states that the current labour force is estimated at more than 10 million.

About 75 per cent of the labour force is aged below 40 years and the majority of these are graduates, who happen to be unemployed. Mr George Kiberu, the officer in charge of Employment Affairs at the ministry says most of the Curriculum Vitae he receives every day come from the youth graduates who have no work experience.
“The universities do not put much attention in equipping graduates with vocational and entrepreneurial skills to match the current labour market, and more so, there are limited funds allocated to the youth in respective ministries that deal with youth employment,” says Mr Kiberu.

A report presented by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics on employment and earning in 2009 indicates that within four weeks after enrolment every year, approximately 65 per cent of graduates look for jobs. While 62 per cent use personal contacts, 25 per cent visit companies and eight per cent start their own businesses.

“Due to inadequate skills, skill mismatches and looking for salary employment rather than self-employment, most of them (youth) end up unemployed,” reads the report.

Mr Martin Osikei, a data analyst at the NCHE, says unemployment among graduates is due to poor attitude towards jobs in the labour market. He attributes unemployment to the high number of graduates that enter the labour market yet the education system is not applicable in some courses offered in the universities.

Agriculture haven
Mr Osikei recommends agriculture as a source of income for the youth, who storm the streets seeking for jobs. “We are suffering from a degree syndrome. There is a belief that without a degree you are nothing,” adds Mr Osikei, blaming the unemployment partially on poor upbringing by parents, who don’t introduce income generating activities to youngsters during their time of study.

Mr Phenny Birungi, the assistant executive director of the NCHE noted that the problem of unemployment among graduates is due to lack of enough preparation for future challenges at the university.

He recommends that the education system in Uganda needs to be restructured to produce job creators other than job seekers. “Most university courses train students to think, not to practice. Graduates need to be job creators other than job seekers, but institutions should embark more on training graduates to be job creators in respective fields of study,’’ says Mr Birungi.

Unemployment is more pronounced in urban areas compared to rural areas, according to the Uganda National Household Survey of 2009/ 2010 report by Uganda National Bureau of Statistics. The report indicates that most graduates want to work in urban areas rather than embarking on agriculture. The Head of Corporate Affairs at the Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE), Mr Shaffi Manafa says unemployment in urban areas is due to lack of skills to deliver employers’ needs.

“Employers find it hard to foot extra costs to train graduates, yet they can get experienced workers. Employers also need to be involved in the restructuring of the education system so as to prepare graduates for the labour market,” he adds.
Officials say having many unemployed graduates pose a threat to the economy because it could lead to instability and increase in crime.