Gideon Badagawa, the Executive Director of the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU) gave a keynote speech and employment advice to Ndejje Graduates on Friday at the 20th Graduation Ceremony held at main campus in Luweero.
During the ceremony where 2144 graduands received degrees in different respects, Badagawa hinted on the fact that academic credentials alone cannot guarantee job retention.
He therefore emphasized the need for positive attitude, perception, good communication skills, confidence and so many other skills that are not learnt within the confines of the classroom as requirements for survival at the job.
“The private sector will fire you if you do not behave as required. You must be open minded, innovative and perform assignments on time and all this comes with a positive attitude,” Badagawa advised the graduands.
Badagawa also blamed parents for failing to prepare their children for their careers in future. He explained the importance of the first 6 years in every child’s life as these are determinant on what the child turns out to become later in life, something parents fail to realize.
The Private Sector boss did not shy away from casting blame on the youth for exhibiting laziness. He informed that Ugandan Graduates measure the least productivity in the region.
“60% of our labour force is made up of people below 30 years. However, most youth do not want to work. In fact, most people contend that where there are 10 Ugandans, 1 Singaporean can work. This is so demeaning,” Badagawa emphasized.
On the issue of the ever critiqued education sector, Badagawa confirmed that students use a system of “Cram, pass, and forget” which hinders productivity at the job.
“We are shooting ourselves in the foot if we go to class, and after four years, start looking for jobs; some of these graduates even breakdown during interviews. We need to talk to them,” he retorted.
Badagawa summed up by encouraging the youth to create jobs with the skills acquired at school and advised the University to include the score on internship reports in the final assessment.
