The Youth Innovation Club (YIC) has taken its entrepreneurial initiative for secondary school students to Uganda’s central region, as learners in Namugongo and Mukono enrol for life skills.

Development Diaries reports that learners from Naalya Secondary School and Our Lady of Africa Secondary School have enrolled for the YIC initiative.

The YIC, through workshops, mentoring programmes, networking events, and competitions, empower learners to explore and develop their entrepreneurial skills to help them boost their employability after school.

Some of the skills acquired by learners include craft skills, making cooking stoves, welding, carpentry, knitting, decoration, public speaking, financial literacy, and social media skills.

At least 41 percent or 9.3 million of youths between the ages of 18 and 30 in Uganda are not engaged in any productive activity, according to a 2022 survey conducted by the Ugandan National Labour.

Also, another finding compiled by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBoS) indicates that 9.3 million youths are neither employed nor receiving training.

According to the patron of the club, George Kintu, the initiative is preparing students for life after school as well as getting them ready for the competitive job market.

‘The Skills that they acquire will take them far besides the books. Even if students leave school early, they can survive on these skills’, he said.

Furthermore, the National Chairman of YIC, Ronald Mayanja, added that the club is targeting ten schools and the plan is to have 100 schools covered in the next ten years.

It is understood that seven schools have so far adopted the initiative.

Photo source: YIC