In May 2022, Makerere University released an excited bunch of graduates who toiled through the Covid-19 lockdown patiently to be able to receive such honours. It is truly something to be celebrated. However, every single year, thousands of students graduate from Makerere University. Over 30 universities in Uganda release graduates every year. It is estimated that this year alone, Makerere University has released 12,474 graduates. As much as this is commendable, one wonders who is going to employ them.

Who does it affect?

Unemployment remains a significant concern in Uganda, considering how rampant and incurable it is. It affects the job seekers who have put in their time and effort to attain a good education but can’t get a breakthrough. The reality that is not usually emphasized is that this unemployment also affects the parents/ guardians of the job seekers as they must retain the caretaking responsibilities of these unemployed graduates. Parents invest so much encouragement, effort and money to ensure their children’s futures are secure through education. Some use their life savings, hopeful that they will be well-taken care of once their children land a good job, they will be well-taken care of.

"Studies show that the majority of Ugandan trained doctors work abroad because of the meagre and often delayed payment, lack of adequate working equipment exacerbated by long working hours."

Unemployment affects the economy by losing tax returns that would be gained from employed graduates. It affects the morale of students still in school trying to get qualifications to get a good job. There is no encouragement from those who have gone before them. As a result, many have lost faith people in the government because there seems to be little being done to solve unemployment.

In the logical world, it is unfathomable that a government can put a country’s flagship cash crop at the whims of an investor who has reneged on a contract to build a major hospital for more than two years. Indeed our leaders do not fear huge disappointments. Many of the people enraged by this destructive agreement may be tempted to think that this is a result of incompetence or the lack of simple economic knowledge explained above. Well, it is not! The people who execute such agreements are intelligent and far more sophisticated. They also understand the undesirable implication of their actions.

Ways forward

A key solution is mindset change. There is a significant need to accept that things do not work the way they used to. Having a bachelor's degree in 2022 does not have the same weight and importance as in 1991. There were fewer people then with an education, which gave them an upper hand. Also, the jobs available then were more than the people educated. Times have changed, and so have the solutions.

Education was the norm and the way forward years back, but creativity and adaptability have taken over now. It is important that we now learn to adapt to the current circumstances. It is madness to keep doing the same thing while expecting different results. That is why advocating for, and encouraging self-employment should be the new norm. If confused about where to begin, a good starting point would be attaining a vocational skill.

A vocational skill ensures employment and independence from the long bureaucratic tendencies of working in the formal sector. Paired with a degree, vocational trades can spark creativity, leadership skills, adaptability, and dependability. This is attributed to becoming your own boss from the get-go and learning to deal with pressure at a young age. If desired, this kind of career path could be leveraged to attain a higher position in the informal sector, which increases the chances of someone landing a well-paying job and ending up with two sources of income. Vocational training should be top tier right now.

Conclusion

It is time to take full advantage of the informal sector and use the different levels attained to improve business models and performance. We ourselves are the answer to solving unemployment!.