Re-skill youth to fight unemployment

Government has paid little attention to skilling youth and promoting inclusive employment in the private sector yet this could be the only country’s escape route from poverty and solving the problem of unemployment.

Derrick Samuels, a motivational speaker from Nigeria, said Ugandan youth should not always put the blame on government yet its everyone's role to create jobs.

"Ugandans are unemployed because they are lazy and keep on waiting for government to create jobs for they yet being educated doesn’t make on a job seeker. The country has available opportunities with less capabilities now who is to blame?” queried Samuels.

He made the remarks on Thursday during the 5th annual CEO forum on the theme: "skilling and

inclusive employment private sector growth."

In Uganda, a total of 400,000 youth are released into the job market every year yet there are only 90,000 jobs created per year.

Samuels said Uganda has the opportunities of getting out of the trap if Ugandans learn to appreciate the local investors and supporting their efforts by providing market.

Uganda is one of the countries with the youngest dependent populations in Africa after Niger. With a total population of 34.6 million people, young people aged 18-30 years account for about 23 per cent of the population.

Government's initiative to start a Youth Fund was aimed at helping youths start small enterprises from which they can earn a living. However some groups of youth who have received the money have misused it.

Samuels said: "People import furniture from from china yet Ugandans also make very good furniture if you don’t provide market to your fellow country man how do you think unemployment will be eradicated?”