Col. Edith Nakalema, The Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit engaging the beneficiaries
HABARI DAILY I Kampala, Uganda I Uganda is currently facing a problem of Youth unemployment, underemployment and engagement in undignified work.
This is basically a result of demand- and supply-side causes and ineffective employment policies, initiatives, and programs, according to experts.
Many solutions to this crisis have henceforth been fronted, among which is Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). BPO involves the contracting of the operations and responsibilities of a specific business process to a second-party service provider.
Col. Edith Nakalema, The Head of the State House Investors Protection Unit (SHIPU), is upbeat about the undertaking, saying that it can play a crucial role in creating employment opportunities for the youths in Uganda.
“We are looking at a number of educated youths. BPOs can provide big opportunities to occupy them productively,” she said.
Col. Nakalema made the remarks today while meeting BPO stakeholders at SHIPU offices in Kampala.
The meeting deliberated on strategies that can be used to fight unemployment among the youths as far as the BPO sector is concerned.
Col. Nakalema revealed that there are many untapped opportunities in the BPO sector and stakeholders need to create awareness about such opportunities so that the youths are able to benefit.
“We recently met some of the leaders of the Indian Business Forum and they revealed that they want to enhance their investments in areas like BPOs,” she said, adding that one of the solutions that have been fronted to counter unemployment among the youths in the country is BPOs.
“We should see how we incorporate our youths in the areas they belong,” she said, further calling upon the BPO stakeholders to mobilise talented youths and train them.
“Help the youths to earn a living using their skills. I believe that anyone who has gone to university has a slot in the BPO area. We have many talented youths but lack support,” she said.
Joshua Akandwanaho, the BPO and ITES Supervisor at NITA-U underscored the need to equip the youths with soft skills if they are to fully benefit from the BPO sector.
“Even those who finished Senior six can go for BPOs, in the areas of customer care and marketing. Others may need upskilling to make use of the different offers in the sector,” he said.
Steven Kwesiga, the General Manager, Exquisite Solution Limited, explained that in order to promote BPOs in the country, the government needs to put a favorable policy in place to drive demand.
“Some years ago, we offered training to some youths, but they were not absorbed because the BPOs are limited. How do we create demand? Government needs to put a policy in place to drive demand,” he noted.
Rajnish Jain, the founder of Yako Bank revealed that they currently have a project aimed at empowering the youth especially in the ICT sector.
“We are facilitating and building a sector of Knowledge Process Outsourcing,” he said.
Grace Labong Achire from Yako Call Centre said mindset change and soft skills are key factors that can make Uganda competitive in the BPO sector.
“We need to make our young people appreciate that the sector is competitive. Most of the young people have gone to school, they have degrees, they are trained but not experienced to work with this new technology. We need to expose these young people on how to use this emerging technology. They need that practical exposure,” she noted.
According to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), Uganda has one of the youngest populations in the world, with 78% of its populace under 30 years old.
It further said the country has a high youth unemployment rate of 13.3%, which is above the average national unemployment rate of 9.2%.
