The Federation of Uganda Employers (FUE) hosted the 3rd Community of Practice Workshop under the theme “Building the Future of Fairness and Inclusive Digital Work in Uganda.
” The event brought together government representatives, tripartite partners, civil society, and private sector players to discuss strategies for advancing the digital economy.
Key topics addressed during the workshop included enhancing access to digital literacy, developing targeted soft skills, promoting social dialogue, and fostering gender equity within the digital economy.
FUE Executive Director, Douglous Opio, emphasised the importance of staying ahead of evolving digital tools while ensuring safety in the digital space. He posed critical questions: “How do we keep pace with evolving tools? How do we ensure safety?”
The workshop concluded with key recommendations, including skills development, benchmarking best practices, fostering peer learning, and creating an enabling environment for the digital workforce.
Bethelhem Tesfaye Kassa, a representative from the International Labour Organization, highlighted significant opportunities within Uganda's digital economy.
However, she expressed concerns about the prevalent skills mismatch in the labor market. She advised aligning training with labor market demands, stating, “Conversations should be regulated to mitigate some of these challenges.”
Daniel Emuruk Ogwang, the Lead Consultant on a study assessing digital skills challenges and opportunities, shared notable findings.
He revealed that low digital literacy remains a significant barrier, with 75% of non-internet users citing a lack of skills. Other challenges included gender disparities, with only 0.4% of women possessing programming skills, and geographical inequities in access to digital resources.
The workshop underscored the urgent need to address these gaps to create a fair, inclusive, and competitive digital economy in Uganda. Stakeholders committed to collaborative efforts in skills development and policy alignment to drive the country’s digital transformation agenda.