Coca-Cola Beverages Uganda (CCBU), has said it is set to skill over 10,000 Ugandan youths in 10 higher education institutions across the country with work-readiness skills to support their school-to-work transition through digital coaching and in-person career clinics as the country joins the rest of the world to mark world youth skills day.
The world youth skills day celebrates the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work and entrepreneurship.
This year's theme is" Skilling teachers, trainers and youth for a transformative future."
According to Kirunda Magoola, the CCBU Public Affairs, Communication and Sustainability Director, in 2020, the company partnered with the Boundless Minds to roll out the youth economic inclusion programme in 2020, to empower youth, enhancing and enriching their skills through digital coaching.
Kirunda noted that the program launched at the peak of Covid-19 to bridge the mentorship gap created by the closure of schools continues to expand and equip youth beyond the pandemic.
"We always want to help young people maximize their potential. As we mark World Youth Skills Day, it is our pledge that we will continue to mentor young people and support each other to grow together. Skilling is an essential part of enhancing one's abilities and it is our understanding that our business can only thrive if the people we serve have the ability to thrive too," he noted.
"We want to create inclusive growth opportunities by defining a consistent way of implementing economic inclusion programmes and leveraging leading practice for implementing our programmes," he adds.
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Youth in Uganda remain largely disadvantaged due to a highly competitive job market that is characterized by an acute lack of opportunities. In 2021, the National Planning Authority (NPA) reported that 87% of Ugandans who had completed their education are unemployed and 20% of those that find jobs are underemployed due to a skills gap.
The high rate of unemployment has been identified as one of the reasons that has caused the country to lag behind and limit its ability to attain middle-income status by 2040.
Kirunda said the youth economic inclusion program has also put in place other measures such as the Graduate In Training (GIT) program, which helps to mitigate unemployment challenges.
The programme, he said, enrolls trainees from universities and gives them the opportunity to train and learn from the business, before eventually absorbing them as employees.
Kirunda noted that CCBU also offers internship programmes to learners in higher institutions of learning to equip them with ready-to-work and development skills as a way of building the country and shaping the next generation.
"Our aim is to create greater shared opportunity for our business and the communities we serve across the value-chain. Opportunity is more than just money, it's about a better future for people and their communities everywhere on the African continent," Magoola said.
"When we grow our business the right way, not just the easy way, we help create inclusive growth opportunities for our communities, women and youth, our customers, our employees and our shareholders, for a better shared future."
