Work and school-based learning is solution to youth unemployment

As part of efforts to fight the high youth unemployment rate in the country, President Museveni has of recent been visiting youth projects and Saccos in Kampala and Wakiso districts. Through his Presidential Initiative, Museveni distributed machinery for carpentry and joinery, wielding and metal fabrication, among others, to help the members of these Saccos in the production of their products. During the tours, the President acknowledge the lack of skills among the youth, emphasising that equipping them with skills will go a long way in combating unemployment.

“This is a campaign I have started to awaken Ugandans so that we don’t keep crying for lack of jobs,” said President Museveni.

In a similar tone, Janet Mukwaya, who is the minister of Gender, Labour and Social Development, during a recent review meeting called for a collaboration between her ministry and that of Education and Sports, to promote skills training. This is because many people joining the labour market do not have skills required by employers.

She said: “There are many educated Ugandans, who may not get jobs because of lack of hands-on skills. There is need to identify talent and nature it early to ensure that our people are ready for competitive employment.” The above extracts are evidence enough that although efforts and interventions are being made to fight unemployment, there is still great need for dual vocational educational training to fill the gap of skills shortage in the country.
According to Uganda Bureau of Statistics, the last census results indicate that more than 90 per cent of people above 25 years of age are unemployed. The report captures the country’s non-utilised labour potential of the would be productive population, which hampers economic development.

As higher institutions of learning continue to churn out scores of graduates, it is unfortunate that there are no sufficient jobs to absorb those numbers. However, job-scarcity isn’t the bigger problem. The problem lies in the lack of employable skills relevant in the labour market as well as adequacy of skills required for business set-ups.
Nevertheless, what measure can the country adopt to aptly navigate through the unemployment challenge, restore hope to many desperate youth in order to lead them be part of the middle income status Uganda? Adopting a dual system of vocational educational training is a successful model that has proven to be effective in circumventing youth unemployment. It aims at solving the problem of skills shortage in the labour market. Taking the example of Germany, where dual vocational training is deeply embedded and widely respected in German society, the dual system integrates work and school-based learning to prepare apprentices for a successful transition to full-time employment.

This involves working in a company three to four days a week where one can learn the practical bits and tricks of a chosen profession while gaining work experience. And then training in a vocational school for eight to 12 hours a week learning the theoretical contents particular to your occupation. Later, students acquire enough skills to enable them to find work as specialists or to start their own businesses.
According to the Federal Institute for Vocational and Education training (VET), 52 per cent of young Germans graduate from dual VET apprenticeships and many are offered long-term employment at the very place of apprenticeship. Advantages of dual vocational educational training include:

Trainees receive a solid foundation for their further career development as well as acquire extensive knowledge that is required on the labour market today. Trainees acquire practical skills and experience as well as gain better prospects on the labour market. They are paid during the training. Furthermore, the student develops under real conditions. The government and society as whole benefit from the duality vocational training as a means to reducing youth unemployment.
The system provides various opportunities for life-long learning. Given that students in dual education system receive high quality vocational training, they are well prepared to enter the job market at a young age, hence making an early contribution to the economy. Also the system effectively provides huge savings for firms on recruitment costs because they have already invested in the skills of potential hires.

Therefore, it isn’t a surprise that the dual vocational educational system is one of the primary reasons for Germany’s continued industrial successes. In the same way, the secret to China’s vast supply of highly skilled manpower is linked to the promotion of skills training and vocational talent.
Apple CEO Tim Cook in his remarks about China’s vast supply of highly skilled vocational talent said: “The vocational expertise is very deep here, and I give the education system a lot of credit for continuing to push on that even when others were de-emphasising vocational education. Many countries in the world have woken up to this reality and said this is a key thing and we have got to correct that. China called that right from the beginning.”

Ms Nabuzale is a Ugandan living in Germany.
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