Project Details

Increasing access to skills development opportunities for vulnerable youth and supporting self-employment initiatives.

Youth unemployment and limited access to practical vocational skills remain major challenges in Uganda, particularly among vulnerable youth in rural communities. Many young people, especially school dropouts, young women, and unemployed youth, continue to face poverty, dependency, and exclusion from meaningful economic opportunities due to limited access to affordable and market-relevant skills training. In Kasese District, these challenges are further worsened by low household incomes, inadequate employment opportunities, and social stereotypes that discourage women from engaging in technical trades. As a result, many vulnerable youth remain trapped in unemployment, hopelessness, and risky livelihoods despite their potential to contribute productively to society.

With support from Enabel through the Skills Development Fund (SDF) Albertine Rwenzori, CODEA, in partnership with Kasese Youth Polytechnic, implemented the Vocational and Entrepreneurship Skills for Youth Economic Empowerment (VESYEE) Project to equip vulnerable youth with practical skills in welding and metal fabrication, entrepreneurship, life skills, and work-based learning. Beneficiaries were linked to financial service providers, organized into business groups, and supported with start-up kits to establish youth-led enterprises.

As a result, 92% of the beneficiaries were certified by DIT, six youth-led businesses were established, and dozens of vulnerable youth created self-employment opportunities and began rebuilding their lives with dignity, income, and renewed hope. The project further promoted gender inclusion, social rehabilitation, and equal participation by supporting vulnerable young women, breastfeeding mothers, and former drug users to access vocational training without discrimination.