Employment in Uganda today, doesn’t come on a silver platter and this doesn’t matter whether you got a first class degree at university, whether you have a masters or whether you stopped at A-level. Many a people blame the scarcity of jobs on the Government’s inability to create jobs for the growing number of youths and graduates, with increased unemployment levels, mass poverty has been born. And the people on twitter call them UOT(Ugandans On Twitter), have come up with a TT that is all about Graduates and Unemployment, the TT, #GraduatesNOTmaids, In my opinion, is a TT rather encouraging voluntary unemployment as a solution to underemployment, which to me is not the same. You simply cannot compare unemployment to underemployment in today’s world.
As we blame the government for not being able to create jobs for the youth, allow me to blame other things you the unemployed graduate inclusive;
1. You are the problem. The fact that you are busy despising jobs makes you an employment problem and society should do away with you. You claiming you cannot become a maid because you have a degree in BBA makes you as dense as a brick. Many maids earn even more than these fellas that go into an air conditioned office with a swinging chair and internet. There are many boys out their making money from the jobs you despise as your shoe sole is getting wasted and your coat fading all in the name of job hunting, dude wake up, life is a practical lecture room.
2. Parenting and upbringing. This is a case of all the 90s babies, me inclusive, we are still in a comfort zone defined by laziness, less hard work and a lot of whining. You grew up getting err thing you wanted, you forgot the code ‘no hustle no gain’ so you sit your ass home all day long as you wait for dad or mum to get you a job, and you have set standards that you can’t keep, you have to become flexible my friend, what comes is what you should embrace without fear of being laughed at. It might not be fancy to post an Instagram pic of you doing the dishes, but if it pays the bills, embrace it.
3. The Education system. we have all ganged up against the system that nurtured us, some of us spent more time in school than we did at home, and this leaves an effect on us. We are used to doing things in groups, the band wagon effect. If James can’t take on a night watchman’s job, then I can also not take it on, But James might be a minister’s son, are you?
The education system has further prepared us for white collar jobs that no longer exist rather are very limited and controlled by nepotism. The system emphasises cram work and a lot of theory with less of practicals. This is weighing us down, and the numbers of the unemployed are increasing.
4. Most of us are UPE graduates, this is one of the reasons we can’t get employment, before you despise a job, evaluate yourself, are you employable, can you manage the adrenaline that comes with too much work little pay just because you sit in a fancy office on a fancy block?
We are UPE graduates because google is our friend, we even reach an extent of acting dense all because we have fast internet. Everything we are to do, we first consult brother google, recently when we had gone for fieldwork study, before we set off to the field, a friend of mine googled something like this “How to go to the Field”, I swear, I laughed my lungs out, but today, I am saddened because most of us are UPE graduates.
Don’t despise any job because you have a degree, there is a start to everything great or big, you cant always expect to start large or in an office, get out of your comfort zone, face life in the eyes and start living. You can also get yourself a book that might open your eyes to reality, The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason
