YVSP FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT AND EMPLOYMENT

Skills Development and Employment Programme

The Youth Volunteer Service Program (YVSP) shall have a Youths Skills Development and Employment Programme. It shall be the Youths flagship programme of the Department of Skills Development.

It shall provide Character Building Programs, soft and hard skills training and dispatch the Youths to rural areas to undertake various rural infrastructure and other development projects. It shall transform Youths from both rural and urban areas, from being job seekers to become job creators in their own right, breaking the vicious cycle of social grants dependency.

The Department of Skills Development and Employment shall partner with the Ministry of Agricultural to train agri-paraprofessionals in smallholder livestock and dairy production, and more in vegetable gardening and other areas of the same field. Other Ministries shall also help the YVSP to identify areas which needs deployment of relevant Youth Army’s members for service. The Department shall invest in programmes to train and deploy Youths.

Background

 The objectives of SDEP are to:

1. Train Youths through specifically developed programmes linked to community needs in rural and urban areas

2. Develop Youths with multidisciplinary skills through civic education

3. Capacitate Youths in retaining knowledge and technical skills acquired during training

4. Increase the number of communities receiving support in their self-development

The programme is specifically designed as part of the National Youths Service and focuses on aspects of Patriotism, Discipline and Service Delivery in communities.

Recruitment is done through advertisements and selection by community structures.  SDEP participants shall be expected to stay in the programme for 6 months following their recruitment from communities. The first 3 months of the programme shall focus on skills development while the latter 3 months shall focus on incubation of enterprises.

The curriculum of the YVSP program shall provide subjects such as Drill, Physical Training, Leadership, Civic Education, Life Skills, Youths Regeneration, Diversity Management, Environmental Management, Public Service Induction, Communication and Social Responsibility among other programs

The programme shall focus on character building in order to deliver Youths who have developed self-discipline, are proud Ugandan and can take the lead in their communities.

Given the spare capacity of the UPDF to present and support the broader YVSP program, a number of Youths may be reached and a significant citizen building is offered. Each of these Youths will have a significant impact on the socio-economic development of their communities.

On conclusion of the DOD NYS program, the participants return to their own departments to continue with their Youths Service Program.

Skills Development and Training

The skills development provided by the Youth Volunteer Service Program (YVSP)'s SDEP shall be in the domains of Construction, Agriculture, Disaster Mitigation, Office Management,

Basic Administrative Skills, Project Administration and Enterprise Development. Construction in rural areas has been identified as an immediate focus area of skills development.

The skills-development phase will be followed by the community-service phase, where the youths will apply their newly acquired skills in rural communities under the leadership/mentorship of the responsible department.

The final phase or exit strategy of the YVSP will be linked to the maintenance and operations activities of local and district municipalities. The strategic outcomes of the program in the long term are expected to be:

1. a decline in the level of Youths unemployment in rural areas

2. an increase in Literacy and Skills

3. an increase in disposable income of Youths in rural areas as a result of Employment and Entrepreneurial Opportunities

4. decreased dependence on transfers from family members working in urban areas.

On conclusion of the Service Year YVSP program, the participants are in positions to be employed, or to contribute to the economies of their respective communities through building enterprises.

In its initial phase, young people between 18 and 35 years of age shall be enlisted, with a minimum educational standard of senior four (4). They shall be drawn from rural wards across the country, including farms, small rural towns and some peri-urban areas.

Application forms shall be available from the Department of Skills Acquisition/Development and Employment Division (SDEP)