According to statistics, at least 400,000 students graduate every year from public and private higher institutions of learning in Uganda but only 150,000 jobs are created annually leaving the remaining 250,000 graduates jobless and they resort to remaining at home, getting married and others decides to go abroad for greener pastures.
This being one of the major obstacles that hinders Uganda’s economic development, the government of Uganda came up with a policy known as graduate volunteer scheme which was launched in January 2019 with an aim of dealing with graduates in Kampala Metropolitan region.
In this scheme graduates are given knowledge and practical skills to enable them compete on the job market and also to create their own jobs instead of being job seekers by volunteering in various government activities.
About 2 billion Uganda shillings have so far been used to support over 210 pioneer volunteers from different sectors.
Having seen the positive outcomes of the scheme, government is set to extend the scheme to other districts within Uganda to continue changing the lifestyles of graduates in those districts.
According to the minister of Labour, Gender and Social Development Hon Frank Tumwebaze, the main target of Uganda graduate volunteer scheme is to create more employment opportunities and to equip graduates with skills so that they can join the job market when they are prepared.
