Effectiveness of the youth livelihood programme (YLP) in providing vocational skills for self-employment in Wakiso district, central Uganda

Abstract

The study assessed the effectiveness of YLP as part of various efforts sanctioned by the Government of Uganda (GOU) to respond to the growing challenge of youth unemployment resulting from a bulging youth population. Focusing on YLP, the study was able to establish that the youth livelihood Programme has failed to provide vocational skills for youth self-employment in Wakiso district, central Uganda. The study adopted a qualitative approach, mainly relying on primary data collection methods (interviews, observation) and secondary method (documentary reviews) to assess how effective YLP has been in providing vocational skills for self-employment to youth. The study findings revealed that YLP did not put in place a mechanism to facilitate skills training and lacked a clear procedure for assessing youth needs as a critical element informing intervention design.

The study recommended that the government through the supervisory ministry Gender Labour &Social Development (MGLSD) should immediately halt YLP program implementation and redesign Programme to address critical gaps (missing essentials) such as establishing well-equipped training facilities or establishing affiliates in which skills training can be done and put in place a system to assess youth needs and potentials before deciding on particular interventions to undertake.