Uganda Youth School-to-Work Transitions

School-to-work Transitions of the Youth in
Uganda
Edward Bbaale
Center for Basic Research and Makerere
University, Kampala-Uganda
11/24/2014 IDRC Youth Regional Workshop 24th-25th 2014, Kigali-Rwanda

Flow of the presentation
• Introduction and study concern
• Objectives of the study
• Methodology
• Findings
• Recommendations

Introduction
• Globally, the population of the youth has grown
exponentially.
• As a result, the number of unemployed youth has rapidly
risen.
• The number unemployed youth was 73.4 million as of 2013
(ILO, 2012).
• Uganda’s current population is about 35 million.

Objectives of the study
• To enhance a deeper understanding of why the youth
encounter difficulties in entering and remaining in labor
markets.
• The prevailing labor market surveys are deficient in this
aspect.
• Do not examine contract situations, earnings, job
satisfaction, and not the ease or difficulty of the SWT.

Methodology
• The primary sampling units in this regard were the
households.
• A multi-stage stratified sampling design was used.
• Analytically, we presented descriptive statistics using cross-tabulations,
graphs and charts for the variables of interest.

Results: Age cohorts
14%
47%
24%
16%
15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34

Results: Gender distribution
57%
43%
Male Female

Mobility of unemployed youth: willing to move
to another location to find work
20%
26%
No Moving to
capital city
35%
Move to
town/city
other than
capital city
3%
Moving to a
rural area
5%
Moving to
another
country
No preference
11%

Share of early school leavers and the reasons
for leaving school
Finished the
course
Failed exams Wanted to start
work
To get married Economic reasons
(Couldn’t afford)
Other
20%
1%
5%
2%
71%
3%

Some characteristics of the youth in Education

Future aspirations of the youth in education
67%
1%
16%
1%
15%
Look for a job Stay at home Further studies Don't know Other

Ever stopped education to work and re-entered
at a later date

Reasons for re-entering the education system
3%
Couldn't find
suitable work
60%
Needed
different
education to
change career
1%
Wasn’t sure
what I wanted
to do yet
29%
Finally had
sufficient
money to pay
for education
4% 3%
Not ready to
face the
‘working’
world yet
Other

Highest education level the youth aspire to
attain
12%
Vocational
training
2%
Secondary
Education
57%
28%
University Post-graduate
studies
1%
Other

Reasons for the choice of the field of study
70%
19%
8%
2% 1%
Job prospects Prestige/self-esteem An easy field Field of study done by
peers
Field of study liked
by parents

Some characteristics of the unemployed youth
11/24/2014
IDRC Youth Regional Workshop 24th-25th
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

Duration of unemployment
4%
Less than a
month
7%
14%
22%
A month Six Months One year More than a year
53%

Discouraged Unemployed youth
• Is one who is currently inactive for a reason that
undertaking a job search would be a futile effort.
• 64% of the youth in our sample are discouraged .

Discouraged Unemployed youth
8%
Believe no suitable
work available (in
area of relevance to
one’s skills
22%
Lack of employers'
requirements
(qualifications,
training, experience,
age, etc.)
25%
Could not find
suitable work
9%
Don't know how or
where to seek work

Job reservations of Unemployed youth
• We gauged the relative urgency of the job search among
unemployed youth by determining:
(i) if they have ever refused a job offer
(ii) if so, for what reasons
(iii) under what conditions they would accept a job offer.

Ever refused a job offered to you

Why refuse a job offer
61%
6% 6% 4% 2% 4% 4% 4%
8%

Conditions for the youth to accept any job
Accept any job,
whatever the
conditions
Accept any job,
provided it was
stable
Accept any job,
provided it was
well paid
Accept any job,
provided it was
appropriate to my
qualification
Accept a job only
if it was stable,
well paid and if it
was appropriate
to my level of
qualification
Other
31%
12%
35%
7%
13%
3%

Is there a minimum wage below which you
would not work

Some characteristics of the employed youth

Quality of employment
• The thresholds for “good” and “bad” and hence decency of
employment are difficult to determine.
• At the minimum, “decent” employment can be according
to the permanency of the contract and the job satisfaction
of the person in question.

Type of employment contract
52%
28%
I do not have one I have an oral
contract of
unlimited duration
(Permanent)
11%
I have an oral
contract of a limited
duration (temporary
9%
I have a written
contract of
unlimited duration
(permanent)
0%
I have a written
contract of a limited
duration

Extent of satisfaction with the job

Are you hoping to change the job

Some characteristics of the Self-employed youth

Becoming self-employed
• Self-employment for the young worker is argued to be both
voluntary than involuntary in nature.
• “Voluntary” motives for choosing self-employment include
the desire for:
(a) greater independence,
(b) more flexible working hours, and
(c) higher income.
• “Involuntary” motives include:
(a) could not find a wage job and
(b) no other family member available to take care of the
family business

Reasons for choosing self-employment or own
account worker
11/24/2014
2014, Kigali-Rwanda
Could not find a
wage or salary
job
Greater
independence
More flexible
hours of work
Higher income
level
Other
35% 35%
4%
20%
6%

Source of start-up capital
5%
61%
25%
4% 3% 1% 0% 1%

Benefited from a youth enterprise development fund

Were the funds allocated to you sufficient

Are government programmes addressing youth
unemployment?

Government programmes are innovative in
addressing youth unemployment

Job Search methods of the unemployed youth
11/24/2014
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

Taken steps to find work or establish own
business last month

Steps taken to seek work in the last month
4%
Through
education/training
institution
37%
Checking at
worksites
15%
34%
Answering adverts Through
friends/relatives
3%
Looking for land,
machinery,
equipment to
establish own
business
Arranging for
financial resources
to start a business
7%

Received assistance from Employment services

Main Obstacle for finding a good job
26%
17%
3%
5%
24%
2% 3%
7%
3%
10%

What can be done to address these obstacles?
20%
4%
34%
13%
0%
10%
12%
7%

Education/Training Received useful in getting a
job
29%
34%
36%
1%
Very useful Somewhat useful Not useful Do not know

Job search methods and duration of search
Search Strategies/duration of unemployment
Less
than a
month
A
month
Six
months
One
year
More
than
one
year Total
Through Education/training Institution 0 0 17 67 17 4
Checking at work sites 2 3 19 19 58 37
Answering adverts 4 9 17 39 30 15
Through friends and relatives 0 8 13 21 58 34
Looking for land, building,
machinery/equipment to start own enterprise 0 25 0 25 50 3
Arranging financial resources to start a business 0 8 8 15 69 8
Source: own Survey data set

STAGES OF TRANSITION
• Matsumoto and Elder (2010) define a youth who has
‘transited’ to be one currently employed in:
(i) a fixed-term and satisfactory job;
(ii) a fixed-term but non-satisfactory job;
(iii) a temporary but satisfactory job; or
(iv) self-employed and satisfied

• A youth “in transition” has either of the following current
statuses:
(i) employed in a temporary and non-satisfactory job;
(ii) in wage & salaried employment with no contract;
(iii) self-employed and unsatisfied;
(iv) in unpaid family employment (both satisfactory and non-satisfactory);
(v) unemployed; or
(vi) inactive and not in school, with an aim to work later.

• A youth “not transited” has either of the following current
statuses:
(i) still in school; or
(ii) inactive and not in school, with no intention of looking for
work.

Average percentage of the employed youth by
transition status
No contract 33 67 52 in transition
Permanent contract 52 48 36 Transited
Temporary contract 46 54 11 46% transited, 54% in transition
11/24/2014
Mostly satisfied Mostly unsatisfied Overall Transition Status
Source: own Survey data set
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

Conclusions and implications
• Governments should be mindful of the influx of the youth
to urban centers.
• Need to re-orient the education system to make it more
relevant to the job market. Majority of the youth re-entered
the education system.
• Government needs to demystify the association of
vocational education to failures. The majority of the youth
look at university education as a sign of success.
• The government needs to put in place a legal framework
that ensures a minimum wage.
• The majority of the youth do not have employment
contracts

• Youth chose self-employment for both voluntary and
involuntary motives; greater independence, higher income
level, couldn’t find a wage/salary job. Conducive
environment required.
• Self-employed youth obtained start-up capital from own
savings. Yet very few youth ever benefited from
government youth fund. Need to strengthen the
programme.
• The majority of the youth argued that government
programmes were not addressing youth unemployment
and were not innovative.
11/24/2014
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

• Job search is dominated by informal methods like social
networks and checking at worksites. Need to make public
employment services functional.
• The leading obstacles to finding a good job are no
education, unsuitable general education, and not enough
jobs.
• Solutions suggested are providing financial help, technical
education, and entrepreneurship training.
• Some job search methods become more important while
others become less important as unemployment episode
increases.
11/24/2014
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

• Putting in place better designed labour market institutions
that ensure career planning and placements.
• Timely and relevant labour market information is one
element that can ease the policymaking process. This can
help to identify vulnerable groups.
11/24/2014
2014, Kigali-Rwanda

Uganda Youth School-to-Work Transitions

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