Skills can turn around your life

“Go to school, read hard and get good grades; then go to university, read hard and get a good job…” used to be the best piece of advice any parent would give their children. Not anymore.
Whereas some parents remain glued to the adage of “good grades and the good job,” the market instead demands skilled labour, leaving bearers of the best grades wandering about city streets, knocking on office door after door, looking for a good job that most of the time never comes.
Yet, children that have been encouraged to tread the skills path are already hustling in the job market with lives rich with permanent life skills for which they can create jobs on one hand and render hired services on the other.
Youth unemployment in Uganda is on the rise and with many of the school goers plying the white colour lane and remain trapped in a vicious cycle of helplessness in the face of poverty, it is perhaps for this reason that the government has rolled out Skilling Uganda as a major driver for a skilled generation.
The programme has been enhanced by donor funding, mainly from the European Union (EU) with millions of foreign currency invested in refugee infested districts and internally displaced people’s zones, benefiting multitudes of people.
Jacqueline Ababiku, 26, could not wait any longer when the opportunity for her to enroll for a skills programme came her way. She immediately seized it and studied computer basics. “I chose computer studies because digitisation is taking over the world,” she said.
Holding onto her crutches, Ababiku limped 12kms on a daily to Amelo Technical Institute in Adjumani, before she was admitted into the institute’s boarding section.
Today, she earns a living from basic printing services, editing photographs and producing school report cards.
“I run a stationery shop in Adjumani with Duramati Services,” she says with a broad smile. I was not interested in returning to school at first because I completed Senior Four in 2016.”

Restoring hope
Her dream to return to school had suffered a sudden end after Senior Four, due to lack of school fees but also because she had not scored enough grades to continue with high school.
One year later, an agent from Cheshire Services Uganda (SCU) visited her home and invited her to apply for the short certificate course that has turned out to be her bread earner.
Amelo Technical Institute is operating a skills development programme with a grant worth €165,000 (about Shs645m) from the EU.
The money is part of the larger €5m aid to Support Skills Development for northern Uganda, being implemented by Enabel, a Belgian technical organisation that operates through synergies with local non-government organisations. On January 18, Ababiku became one of the 200 youth (refugees and host community) who graduated with a certificate.
It was the first graduation ceremony since the institute partnered with Cheshire.
Others pursued courses such as motor vehicle technology, motorcycle repair, Computer engineering, and brick making, among others.
“I passed well,” says Ababiku, clutching her fist, to express delight. For her, it was never an easy path.
“As a physically-impaired person, I had many challenges but because I am strong willed, it is like I have already succeeded, I can predict a bright future,” she says. In fact she wants to upgrade her studies while running a business.
Lucky for Ababaiku, all graduates have been given startup kits to help them settle after school.

Skill the right way
Freda Bella is the Skills Development Fund manager, at Enabel Uganda. She says the objective of the fund is to promote relevant skilling.
“We realised there was a mismatch in the skills development cycle where institutions were just training without meeting the demands of the labour market. The private players (employers) were complaining because of inapt skills and when research was conducted, we identified the gaps,” she says.
She adds, “with the joint venture, the private sector comes together with the training institution for tailor-made skills and labour that meets the available market.”
The fund is facilitating grassroots based initiatives where skilling areas are identified by the beneficiary communities, to suit their demands.
“The fund is also looking at social targeting where we look at vulnerable groups; there are times where entry is limited to a certain academic level but we have several windows, including those of child mothers, persons with disabilities and those living with HIV/Aids to have a wholesome social inclusion,” says Bella.
Currently, the programme is running in three region-specific areas; the Albertine (Kasese, Kabarole, Hoima, Masindi, Buliisa and Kiryandongo), northern Uganda (Arua, Yumbe, Moyo, Adjumani and Lamwo) as well as Karamoja (Kaabong, Kotido, Abim, Moroto, Napak, Nakapiripiriti and Amudat.)