Analysing the causes of youth unemployment in Hoima Municipality

Abstract

The study was conducted in Hoima Municipality. The study sought to analyse the causes of Youth unemployment inHoima Municipality. The objectives of this study was to establish the causes of unemployment among the Youth, to assess the challenges faced by the Youth in their efforts to get employed and to propose possible solutions to the problem of Youth unemployment in . The study employed a case study design utilizing a combination of both qualitative and quantitative approaches of data collection targeting 60 respondents. The findings revealed that a number of socio-economic factors contribute to Youth unemployment among which include: the poor University education, the mismatch between skills and the labor market, the theoretical education curriculum, inadequate skills, rural urban migration, high population growth among others. The primary respondents included all Youth in the productive labour force residing within the study area. The study concluded that Youth unemployment in stood at 66% among women Youth and nearly 28% among the men all of whom are the productive labour force. The study further concluded that whereas some people say many Youths in Hoima Municipality are voluntarily unemployed, the fact is that the problem of unemployment is structural resulting from a deficiency in demand for labour in the labour market as some of the Youth who are educated complained of low industrialization and discrimination in the labour market and the formal sector which explains their under employment or unemployment in the informal sector. The study recommended that to fight the problem of Youth unemployment, there should be efforts put in place to among other things; control rural-urban migration that results into high population growth,make reviews and redesign Uganda’s education system, provision of credit facilities to address young peoples’ financial constraints that limit entrepreneurship. Construct skills imparting institutions in many parts of the country to provide Youths with practical skills education and make the cost of the training affordable.