MENTORSHIP AND YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

 Youth employment is real. Over 70% of Ugandans are below the 30 years. In addition we have over 30 universities producing over 300,000 graduates per year. The job creation rate is about 70,000 jobs per year. The question is, where do the remaining graduates go? It is an open secret that some graduates have given up on applying for jobs. This is because many have experiences of being rejected several times . That is the situation at hand. But should every graduate or youth give up? Some of the youths are doing their best amidst the challenging economic times. In fact a number have challenged the "discouraging" times by forming their own companies and are employing many other youths. With this happening it is a signal that all hope is not lost. In fact a number of universities have established innovation centers to spur the youth to use their creativity to create jobs.

The Chinese say that wherever there is a challenge , there is an equivalent opportunity. Perhaps we need to rewire the thinking of majority of our graduates so that they do not put all their hopes in the academic transcripts as a gate pass to a ready job. There have been tendencies of graduates putting aside their academic transcripts and opting for their dream career after graduation. The question is, why should a graduate wait to complete their course to discover their potential? Could the problem be with the nature of our education system that skews students to pass exams/ The question that has been asked severally is why are some of the most successful entrepreneurs not "university graduates"?  

Youth unemployment can be dissected from many angles but it seems that mentorship at all levels of life is one of the safest routes to addressing the current unemployment dilemma. Iam glad that a number of institutions have taken up the mantle of developing mentors to shape the lives of the youths. The best mentorship a child can get starts from home. A parent can guide their child to explore their dreams at an early age and many are doing it. We credit them for that. They are nurturing tomorrow's job creators. We should pick a leaf from Indians who have proved to develop successful family enterprises. This is because they intentionally mentor their children at an early age. I once saw an Indian take his child to a bank but there are some students who enter the bank at university. The question is , why wait up to university for a student to go and pay their school fees or to be exposed to money?

Some of the social ills such as the high crime rate are because some of these youths have not been mentored into becoming useful citizens. All that they are exposed to is becoming a criminals as a way of coping up with the realities of life. A case in point is recently a certain youth was killed by a mob for murdering a prominent business man  in town. With better awareness this youth would have become an agent of positive transformation.

The above facts support the notion that youth mentorship can play a critical role in changing the mindsets of the youths who form majority of the population to become a blessing to their country. Most of the successful business men and women have been products of intentional mentorship and coaching.


HOW TO TAP INTO MENTORSHIP

1.Mentorship starts at home.

2.Religious and academic institutions paly a critical role in mentorship

3. Establishment of community libraries

4.Purposeful internship

5.Youths should embrace life long learning

6.Use of internet as a source of useful information.

7.Youths should embrace community service

8.Purpose discovery from child hood

9.Mentorship is a life time calling.

10.Financial literacy training in communities should be intensified.


Youth unemployment is real. But we can not fold our arms. We have t address it from all corners. The failure to do so is creating many social ills such as an increase in crime rate. A youth who has no source of income is likely to devise alternative means of survival which may harm other people. So the best option is to mentor the youths who form the majority of the population so that they can become agents of positive transformation.


Phillip Kiryowa

Finance and Leadership Coach

+256752615916

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