2,300 youth fail to join presidential skilling centres

Thousands of jobless youth in Kampala, who turned up at presidential skilling centres in Kampala yesterday, were turned away.
This is after the administrators received overwhelming numbers that cannot be trained from the available facilities and resources.
Mr Joshua Muyinda, an instructor at the centre, said they received more than 3,000 applicants but can only hold 700.

“We have got a number of more than 3,000 who wanted to study at this centre in Wabigalo but unfortunately, according to the space we have, we needed only 700, so we have registered the 700 within two hours and the rest were turned away,” he said.
According to Mr Muyinda, the youth are trained for six months in technical skills such as electoral installation, motor vehicle mechanics, construction, shoe making,  and welding, among others, to enable them engage in gainful self-employment. 
“We are helping the youth not to be jobseekers, after this, they are ready to employ themselves after acquiring the skills,” he said.

The presidential initiative in skilling the boy and the girl child (PISGBC) project was initiated by President Museveni in 2017 with the goal of empowering the underprivileged youth between the age of 17-35 years in Kampala ghettos through skilling. After six months of free training, the beneficiaries are examined and awarded certificates from the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT).
Ms Babirye Jemimah Katende, the administrator of Wabigalo Skilling Centre, said the centre, which kicked off operations in 2019, has benefitted hundreds of underprivileged youth in the city.
Mr Nicolas Kanyasi, one of the successful applicants, applauded the admission process as one free of corruption, saying it is solely based on first come first serve basis.