President Museveni has approved the establishment of three new Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs in Ankole and Greater Masaka subregions as the government moves to expand vocational training opportunities for vulnerable youths.
Two of the hubs will be established in Ntungamo and Bushenyi districts, while the third will be constructed in Kalangala District, a hard-to-reach island district in Greater Masaka.
State House Comptroller Jane Barekye announced the development during separate stakeholder engagements at the Ankole Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub and the Greater Masaka Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub.
Barekye said Museveni approved the additional hubs after local leaders raised concerns about stiff competition for the limited training slots available at existing centres serving several administrative units.
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The Ankole Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub currently serves Ibanda, Ntungamo, Mitooma, Mbarara, Isingiro, Kiruhura, Sheema, Bushenyi, Mbarara City, Rubirizi, Rwampara, Kazo and Buhweju, as well as municipalities in the region.
Barekye said the large number of administrative units means some areas receive an average of only 14 training slots per intake, compared with more than 25 in some other zones.
She asked the local governments of Ntungamo and Bushenyi to expedite the identification and allocation of suitable land to enable State House to begin establishing the two hubs.
"Please expedite the process of finding land and inform us as soon as possible so that we embark on the establishment of the hubs. If you fail, please tell us so that we look for other options," Barekye told leaders.
Ntungamo District Vice Chairperson Asuman Kigongo said the district was ready to provide about 150 hectares of land in Rubaare Town Council, together with infrastructure valued at about Shs500 million, for the hub.
Bushenyi District Secretary for Finance Didas Ihoza Tumwijukye said the district would provide approximately 30 acres at Ruyonza in Nyakabirizi Division, Bushenyi-Ishaka Municipality.
He said the district had another option of about 100 acres in Buyanja, Kyeizoba Sub-county, should State House find the proposed site unsuitable.
At the Greater Masaka hub, Barekye announced that Museveni had also approved a new centre in Kalangala following concerns about competition for enrolment slots and the difficulties young people from the island district face in accessing the existing facility.
The Greater Masaka hub currently serves Kalungu, Kalangala, Bukomansimbi, Masaka City, Masaka District, Rakai, Lwengo, Lyantonde, Sembabule and Kyotera.
Barekye said the administrative units would be shared between the two centres once the Kalangala hub is established, with each serving five units and consequently increasing the number of youths who can benefit from the programme.
She asked Kalangala leaders to identify and provide suitable land to State House to enable construction to begin.
The expansion comes as State House seeks to increase the capacity and range of courses offered under the Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs programme.
Eng. Raymond Kamugisha, the Director of Presidential Projects and Industrial Hubs at State House, said four additional courses are being introduced following a directive from Museveni. They include weaving and knitting, plumbing, electrical installation and electrical wiring.
Kamugisha also announced changes to make enrolment easier for vulnerable youths without National Identification Cards.
He said possession of a National ID was no longer a prerequisite for admission, adding that applicants could present letters from their respective LC I chairpersons while State House works with relevant authorities to facilitate their acquisition of identification documents.
The lack of National IDs has also affected graduates seeking start-up capital through Presidential Industrial Skilling Hubs SACCOs.
Rwampara RDC Harriet Nakamya said some graduates, including those in Sheema, had failed to access SACCO financing because they lacked National IDs.
"We are ashamed. This shows we have failed to mobilise. From today onwards, let's mobilise these youths and link them to NIRA so that they get IDs and start investing in production," Nakamya said.
Kamugisha also raised concern over the low uptake of SACCO loans in Ankole and Greater Masaka despite funds provided by Museveni to help graduates establish businesses.
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"We do have money that the President sent for the graduates' SACCOs, but graduates are not taking this money. We want to find out why. Masaka City, the best performer, has only taken Shs16 million," he said.
Greater Masaka Zonal Presidential Industrial Skilling Hub Chairperson Rodgers Bulegeya described the programme as one of Museveni's major wealth-creation interventions and called for increased enrolment.
He appealed to State House to increase enrolment from 24 beneficiaries per district to 100, citing high competition for places, particularly in Masaka City.
Bukomansimbi District NRM Chairperson Shafic Mwanje also urged leaders and communities to embrace technical education, saying practical skills provide a direct pathway to employment and wealth creation.
Mwanje said Bukomansimbi had provided an office for the graduates' SACCO and that he had personally provided a motorcycle to facilitate the coordinator's work.
"Fellow leaders, let's go back home and spread the gospel of skilling. Mobilise our communities towards this cause. We need to get into the innovation space, and this has to be done through skilling," Mwanje said.
