Government has set up a Shs120 billion fund to facilitate competitiveness, productivity and employment for self-reliance.
The fund, according to the Ministry of Education and Sports is aimed at equipping youth with marketable skills in fields such as; manufacturing, construction, oil and gas, ICT and agriculture. Over 30,000 youth out of 60,000 targeted by 2020 have so far benefited.
The revelation was made by James Mugerwa, the Assistant Commissioner for Vocational Education while launching the National Skills Fair in Kampala.
The fair will bring together exhibitors including producers and manufacturers, employers, and training institutions to interact for training and work opportunities.
“The Ministry has been working with Enabel and PSFU to skill Ugandans through the Skills Development Fund and Skills Development Facility respectively. The National Skills Fair is an opportunity for us to showcase the achievements of both funds,” Mugerwa says.
The fair will also showcase new approaches of financing skills development focusing on training that matches labour market needs.
“The innovative approaches employed in training have enabled several SDF beneficiaries to get employed while others have started their own businesses,” says Ruth Byinzika Musoke, the Head SDF at PSFU.
Christine Karungi, the SDF Manager at Enabel says the fair will be an opportunity for training institutions to interact with employers. This, she says will ensure that training responds to the needs of the labour market.
Government through the Skilling Uganda strategy launched in 2012 continues to emphasize skills development.
“We have to complete our training cycle. We train the head, the heart but we didn’t include the hands. That is the basis of a lot of our unemployment,” said Education Minister Janet Museveni, while officiating at a skills dialogue in 2017.
The fair will be held at UMA multipurpose hall from 7th – 9th May, 2019.
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