Shs 1.7bn French project to increase youth employability

Uganda faces one of the highest unemployment rates in Africa, particularly among the youths.

With the second youngest population in the world, the country faces a saturated labour market where the demand for jobs from young people entering exceeds the available supply.

By 2021, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) estimated that 40.7 per cent of youths are unemployed. This is because many of these youths lack the necessary training for the job market, among other factors. Job seekers who manage to enter the labour market are confined to low-paying jobs and have few aspects for advancement.

It is against this background that the French embassy in Uganda and its partners – SHONA Agency for Rural Integrated Development, Eye Opener Initiative and Start Hub Africa – have launched a two-year project to promote the employability of young Ugandans through supporting agile methodologies and innovative training to enable decent, sustainable and income-generating employability for Ugandan youths.

The project worth Euros 429,966 (Shs 1.7 billion) whose implementation started in March this year will run until March 2025 with 550 young people expected to benefit from it. It is focusing on three main sectors of agro forestry, agro ecology and tourism.

While launching the project at his residence in Kampala, Xavier Sticker, the French Ambassador to Uganda, said the project reflects the long-term contributions by France to the sectors of agro-ecology and eco-tourism, which can contribute to Uganda’s GDP, as well as create jobs in the country as it will ensure that young people get sustainable jobs.

“Many youths are coming into the job market every year, with 75 per cent of Uganda’s population being the youths. It is all the more important that we ensure that they have good initial training, which helps me to either get jobs or develop the capacity that helps them create their own businesses…,” Sticker said.

The project has three components of: supporting agile methodologies and innovative training for the creation of sustainable and income-generating social enterprises in agro ecology and agro forestry, creating innovative training methodologies and tools focused on the market demand of the tourism and hospitality sector; a sector of the future for Uganda and enabling better employability and integration into the labour market of youths and women in Uganda by promoting links between universities and businesses.

SHONA Agency for Rural Integrated Development is undertaking the participants in innovative trainings for the creation of sustainable income-generating social enterprises in agroecology and agroforestry.

Eye Opener Initiative will create innovative training methodologies and tools focused on the market demand of the tourism and hospitality sector, while Start Hub Africa is providing entrepreneurship, soft and innovation skills to university students in order to foster their potential and integration into the labor market.

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