One of the strategies the Government is using to transform Uganda from a peasant society into a modern and prosperous nation is strengthening economic fundamentals and addressing key development bottlenecks, as outlined in Vision 2040. To tackle the challenge of youth unemployment, the Government has created avenues to empower young people with practical skills that translate into real jobs for both urban and rural populations.
Over the past few years, the Government has significantly expanded youth skilling through programmes such as the Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP), the Presidential Initiative on Skilling the Youth, industrial training centres, and the broader effort to link skills development with industrial parks and local enterprise growth. These initiatives are already yielding tangible results, moving thousands of young people from unemployment into the money economy.
There are many success stories across the country. In Kibuku District, a 22-year-old graduate of the Bukedi Industrial Hub completed training in tailoring and bakery, then used start-up capital from the programme to open a small bakery. He now supplies bread and pastries to local markets daily and earns a steady income. In the Karamoja region, a former street youth trained in welding and metal fabrication has started a workshop repairing motorcycle frames and metal gates. His enterprise now employs two other trained youths, turning idleness into productive work and community service.
There are also numerous stories of single mothers who, after completing their training, have joined together to start businesses in tailoring, salon work, baking, and handcrafted shoe production ventures that were previously out of reach.
The National Skilling Programme under the State House now operates 19 zonal/industrial skilling hubs across the country, equipping youth with employable skills that foster self-reliance, entrepreneurship, and reduced unemployment. These hubs are located in regions with high unemployment and limited access to technical training. Each hub trains 600 youth per year, totalling 12,600 trainees across all centres annually. By the end of 2023, approximately 2,523 trainees had graduated since the programme’s inception.
To support post-training enterprise creation, the Government has committed substantial funding through SACCOs linked to the skilling programmes. So far, UGX 8.8 billion has been injected into these SACCOs as start-up capital for graduates. These figures demonstrate a nationwide push to make skilling a central pillar of economic inclusion.
The programmes offer a wide range of vocational skills, including carpentry and joinery; welding and metal fabrication; tailoring and fashion design; hairdressing and beauty therapy; bakery and confectionery; leatherwork and shoemaking; building and construction; masonry; and, in some hubs, agriculture and agribusiness, including farming under the “Four-Acre Model.”
These success stories are not isolated. They represent a broader shift in mindset away from the pursuit of scarce salaried jobs toward small enterprise creation, skills utilisation, and participation in local economic transformation. Many university graduates and diploma holders have enrolled for vocational training and are now running thriving workshops that support their families and employ others.
Beyond improving individual livelihoods, youth skilling is part of a broader Government vision to strengthen local industry, reduce reliance on imported goods, and stimulate domestic enterprise. Many graduates are now able to supply products and services from baked goods and clothing to leather products and construction services, contributing to import substitution and boosting local production capacity.
Efforts to institutionalise vocational training are also underway. Plans to establish a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) University will allow vocational graduates to progress to diploma and degree training without having to rely solely on the traditional academic pathway.
By aligning skilling hubs, industrial parks, and enterprise support mechanisms such as SACCOs and start-up funding, the Government aims not only to reduce unemployment but also to build a strong base of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) capable of driving national economic growth.
Given that many beneficiaries come from vulnerable backgrounds including urban slums, marginalised regions, and rural poor communities, these interventions also deliver broader social benefits. Access to skills, tools, and start-up capital provides alternatives to idleness, crime, or risky migration.
Beyond economic inclusion, vocational skills have restored dignity and confidence to trainees. Many graduates are now self-reliant and productive members of their communities, with some even becoming employers. This promotes social cohesion, reduces poverty, and strengthens local economies.
The Government’s efforts to skill the youth have produced undeniable progress. Looking ahead, sustaining long-term economic impact will require strengthening linkages between vocational training, industrial parks, markets, and supply chains to ensure products and services from skilled youth find reliable demand. Expanding access to mentoring, business development services, and financial literacy training will also help graduates grow their enterprises beyond the start-up phase.
The writer works with the Uganda Media Centre