Activation Policies for the Poor in OIC Member States
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because there is no term for ‘child labour’ in the local language, Luganda, and families and employers
are usually reluctant to allow a child to leave their labour.
Former child domestic workers who did not complete their primary education will typically be too
old to go back to primary school. PLA therefore enrols them in a vocational skills college to acquire
skills training. Skills training consists of lessons in a vocational skills college, followed by industrial
training with an employer. These placements are sought by the college and employers do not receive
any payments for the training delivered to PLA beneficiaries.
After completing the skills training, the young people must find employment. They may be kept on
by the employers who provided them with industrial training or return to their home village if they
do not have the resources to stay in Kampala whilst looking for employment. It is finding
employment which is the biggest challenge for young people supported by PLA.
As part of the study, three former child domestic workers called Shakira, Edith and Haimudan were
interviewed. Haimudan is 18 and was found by the PLA when he was selling eggs instead of
attending school. He was enrolled at the Kyebando Vocational School in Kampala and was given
lessons in car mechanics. After three months of lessons, the school’s social worker found him an
industrial training placement with a local mechanic. Shakira and Edith, both 18, received
hairdressing training through the PLA. After three months of classes, they received industrial skills
training at a salon located around the corner from the Kyebando Vocational School. After completing
their training, the salon owner kept them on. Their earnings vary according to the number of clients
they have and both girls need to travel five miles from where they live in Makindye to the salon,
although their employer pays for the cost of transport.
Over the course of the project (2005-2014), it is expected that 591 children will be directly
supported by PLA, with ten times this number receiving indirect support. Despite the success of the
project in helping young people, the project will be closing because donor funding has ended.
Further work in this area will be carried out on a smaller scale.
The lack of funding for training schemes such as those delivered by PLA is a significant challenge for
Uganda. This is particularly true given the size of its young population and the extent of skills
training required. 60% of Uganda’s population is under the age of 18.112 Primary and secondary
education in Uganda is free, but fees are likely to be in place for the provision of school materials.
The quality of education has also been questioned. Parents who can afford private school fees
therefore regularly choose to enrol their children in private education. In society, practical,
vocational education is also undervalued. The national curriculum also does not encourage
entrepreneurship.
To address this, the government has introduced measures to encourage entrepreneurship. Although
the promotion of entrepreneurship is a form of job creation activation measures, the government’s
Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) contains an element of skills training. In fact, 20% of the funding
is allocated to the Skills Development. This component supports the development of skills that
create self-employment opportunities. This includes practical training in marketable trades
identified by the youth and start up tool kits for successful completers as well as business skills. The
following section describes the other aspects of the YLP.
Job creation
Job creation measures are required in Uganda because as well as having an extremely young
population, the population is growing quickly. Population growth rates suggest that the population
could almost double from 33.9 million in 2012 to 61 million by 2040.113 The need for job creation
to keep up with population growth has been recognised by the government. It is the young who are
112 The Uganda National Household Survey 2012/2013
113 Uganda Vision 2040