A new labour market survey by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) has revealed that 12.8% of Ugandans aged 15 and above have no formal education, a situation that continues to constrain access to skilled employment and widen the country’s labour market skills gap.
The standstill in education attainment, according to the report, underscores structural challenges in workforce development, with a significant portion of the population remaining outside the formal education system.
The Labour Market Survey, released last week, indicates that while many Ugandans have accessed some level of schooling, a large share remains concentrated at lower education levels, limiting their competitiveness in both formal and informal job markets.
According to the findings, 40.1% of the population has some primary education as their highest level of schooling. Those who have completed primary education account for 15.6%, while 20.1% have some secondary education.
The report further shows that only a small proportion of Ugandans progress beyond secondary school. Just 2.8% have completed secondary education, while 2.6% have attained post-secondary or vocational training. University graduates and individuals with higher qualifications remain very few.
UBOS notes that education and skills training are central to improving employment outcomes, but the current pattern of attainment continues to slow the transformation of the labour force.
The findings also categorise formal education into pre-primary, primary, secondary, vocational training, and university levels, but highlight that progression beyond basic education remains limited.
With most Ugandans clustered within primary and lower secondary levels, the survey points to sustained pressure on the labour market to absorb a workforce with relatively low formal skills.
