OUT-OF-SCHOOL YOUTH VOCATIONAL SKILLS PROJECT

URBAN RURAL DEVELOPMENT ORGANIZATION – UGANDA (URUDO – UGANDA)

ADDRESS:      P.O. Box 09,Town School Road, Kyabuza, Kooki Ward C, Lyantonde Town Council, Kabula County, Lyantonde District-Uganda. 

TEL:                 +256-782-863472,   +256-756-697639

Email:             info@urudo.org

Bankers:        GUARANTY TRUST BANK (UGANDA) LTD

Account No: 214157694151010

Swift Code: GTBIUGKA
SWIFT-CODE: GTBIUGKAXXX
BRANCHENCODE: XXX . 
SORTIERUNG: 270147

Type of the Organization: Community Based Organization (CBO)

Project Title:  Out of School Youth Vocational Skills Development project

PROJECT INTERVENTION AREAS

ACRONYMS

TVET            Technical Vocational and Education Training

JBS            Job Business Service

CBT         Community Based Training

URUDO-Uganda   Urban Rural Development Organization Uganda

OVC      Orphans and Vulnerable Children

Project summary

URUDO-UGANDA is a local grass root non-profit urban rural community based organization (CBO) with no religious or political affiliation operating in Lyantonde district. The project aims at enabling out of school youth gain employable vocational, business and life skills. The selected youth/ potential trainees will be enrolled and attached to practicing local artisans in the project area  for a maximum period of 6 months depending on the vocation. The approach suits the target group considering the fact that they are out of school and lack gainful employment. Lack of employable skills and means of gainful employment has exposed many out of school youth in the area to substance abuse, sexual exploitation, risk of HIV/AIDS infection and low self esteem. The project expected results include increased opportunities for gainful employment amongst out of school youth, relevant business and entrepreneurship skills gained by the trainees and enhanced access to affordable financial services.      

120 out of school youth will be empowered with vocational skills, advocating for self employment and self-reliance campaigns among the youth and supporting the youth with start up kits. The project shall run for 12 months. In furtherance of the objectives of the project, partnerships with local artisans using learn by doing strategy will be established. The project will further pursue a participatory and Rights Based Approach (RBA) to ensure that project beneficiaries and community meaningfully and actively participates in the project cycle.

Problem Analysis

Youth in Lyantonde district comprise of 57% of the total population according to 2014 population and housing census in Uganda. 60% of primary school pupils who enroll in Primary 1 complete Primary 5 while those that complete primary 7 are only 30%. This implies that the dropout rate at upper primary school is at 70%. Over 60% of OVCs (with 38% out of school) lack access to productive assets, finance, business skills and the motivation. Youth in Lyantonde (including out of school youth) are not functionally organised to take advantage of life and business development opportunities.  Despite a great need for youth vocational skills development in the district, the local district government authorities have not given it utmost attention. The main challenges that youth in the target face range from out of school youth lacking employable skills both business and entrepreneurial, Youth enterprise, employment and livelihoods development education materials and training programs are often not effectively market-driven, youth often lack access to market opportunities, Market-relevant business development services for youth are largely not well integrated into or across organizations and the fact that there is limited  access to affordable financial services for out of school youth.

It is very important to build the capacity of the out-of-school youth to gain employable skills to be able to earn income. This is because lack of income earning opportunities demoralises the youth making them destitutes and at times a burden to the society. Other youth resort to susbstance abuse in order to cope with their unbecoming situations. This largely exposes them to even the risk of HIV and AIDS infection. The youth who are unemployed often times misuse their prime working age, become redundant and are vulnerable to all sorts of manipulations. The youth form a very big percentage of the total population and if they are unemployed and ecomically inactive, it to a large extent negatively affects the functioning of both the rural and  national economy.   

The key idea/ solution to develop youth entrepreneurship

Our project idea involves mapping and assessment of out of school youth as a primary exercise. The selected youth will be taken through talents and interests identification to enable them take an active role in determining their choice vocations. A market survey will then be conducted by the youth with guidance of a technical facilitator. This will enable them interact with already performing businesses and be able to assess local business and employment trends and to gain a deeper understanding of the requirements, expectations, challenges and benefits of specific trades.  We ,then, shall identify and link the selected youth to the local/ master artisans for vocational skills training in their choice vocations.

The project intends to further integrate business and life skills in all the training activities. Equally important, the project shall support the formation of graduate trainees saving and lending groups that will be instrumental in providing micro credit to the youths.  The project also plans to loan graduates with start-up tool kits.                

How the strategy is to address the problem of the target group

The project will offer practical employable skills to the out-of-school youth and make it possible for them to earn a living. The trainees will be attached for apprenticeship and when they are offered start-up tool kits, the graduates will be in a position to venture into business right away. The project will improve access to affordable financial services as it will support the formation and management of informal saving and lending groups (Self Help Groups) for graduates. The graduates through their groups will be linked to micro finance instutions and/ or SACCOs to be able to access more funds for business growth. The project benefiaciaries will also gain business, enterprenuerial and life skills. They will thus be able to manage their businesses with the right knowledge and skills needed for business success. All these will result in graduates with capacity to face the entreprunuerial challges of business and employment.       

How the proposed project strategy creates opportunities for the target to become entrepreneurs

The project will offer skills that can enable the youth start their income generating activities. It will offer business and entreprenuerial skills to the benefiaciries. The project intends to loan graduates with start-up tools and with these the beneficiaries will be able to start generating income in order to service the loan provided in form of a tool kit. Also the project will mobilise and train the benefiaciries on the formation of self-help groups to bring about saving and lending services that will make it easy for the youth to access affordable financial services. All these will create an environment that promotes and develops entreprenuership among the youth.      

Anticipated  Project Outcomes

The project aims at enhancing the productivity, competitiveness and profitability of youth led enterprises. Market surveys conducted will enable trainees match market realities with self identified talents and interests. Youth will be engaged in trades that have market potential and the gained skills will position them to better manage their businesses successfully. Trainee participation in the design and implementation of the project will further position them to help other youth who will be identified after the project.       

Key project outcomes relate to Suitable Community level TVET/JBS management structures established, TVET target group identified and equipped with business and life skills and Appropriate TVET business opportunities identified and target group trained.

Project Activities

The key activities to undertake in order to implement the project relate to the key expected results. These activities range from mapping and assessment of out of school youth to final project evaluation. Details of the activities to be undertaken are contained in the project logframe.

Inclusion of end beneficiaries

The end beneficiaries will be involved in identification of their own talents and interests and market survey exercises.  They will also be involved in capacity building sessions notably business and life skills.  They will also be part of the participatory monitoring process through meetings and consultations/ feedback though the contact persons and evaluation of the project.

The end beneficiaries are interested in the project because many out of school youth in the target community are primary school leavers.  Their potential survival options lie in vocational training considering market prospects and/ or undertaking agribusiness initiatives. The agri-entrepreneurship skills will further challenge them to continue undertaking agribusinesses as complementary sources of income.                

The beneficiaries will be capable of running the businesses basing on the relevant and employable skills suitable to the marketplace that will be acquired by the youth. These include vocational, life and business skills, tools acquistion by the trainees that will serve as start up kits and group saving and lending methodology that will enhance trainee access to financial services.  

Innovation

Other than bringing the out-of-school youth in one multi-skills vocational training center, the project will equip trainees with vocational skills in their respective localities and also set up a Job Business Service (JBS) centre for youth. The center acts as a resource center for the community to offer tailored requirments for youth development. These include video shows on adolescent and reproductive health, job mediation and also a hall for training. To ensure its management, a center management committee is established. On a periodical basis, the project will mobilise and bring the  trainees together and offer them with business, entreprenuerial and life skills. Business (including agri-entrepreneurship) and life skills will enable them acquire marketplace  complementary skills.  The use of local artisans will strengthen ownership of the project by the community members for purposes of sustainability.

The integration of saving and lending will improve access to affordable financial services. The suspport systems and structures established will be instrumental in initiating business, finance and market linkages to other input providers. Availing graduates with start-up tool kits will make possible for the graduates to start earning a living right away.      

Organizational Capacity

URUDO- Uganda has its mission as  “To strengthen community capacity to eradicate poverty through development and dissemination of environmentally sound practices.” Enabling out of school youth gain employable skills is one of URUDO-Uganda’s service packages. Substantial project management experience is drawn from the environmental protection, income and food security interventions being implemented. From the ongoing interventions, good practices being documented notably the savings and lending methodology, and working with relevant stakeholders will be developed further to benefit this project.

URUDO- Uganda has a team of trained community extension workers with expertise in group development, community mobilisation and facilitation. The staff working as a Manager has substantial experience in project management, office administration, community mobilisation and facilitation.               

URUDO –Uganda’s eight years of experience working in Lyantonde youth related issues and has established strong linkages with the local government and other actors in the community. This experience, knowledge and linkages will allow for rapid start up of the proposed activities. The proposed activities will complement the existing activities and try to consolidate the achievements already attained. The project’s monitoring and evaluation officer will spearhead the monitoring process of the project in conjunction with other project staff.

Anticipated Risks and Risk Management Procedures

The likely potential risks are limited donor Funding, delay in the release of funds, failure of the youth to acquire the intended vocational skills within the stipulated time frame, youth trainees dropping out of the program, misuse of start up kits by the trained youth beneficiaries and limited cooperation from the local artisans. To meaningfully manage these risks, the project shall ensure participation of community leaders and parents of target group, encourage costs sharing, and signing memorandum of understanding with local artisans stipulating terms and conditions of partnership.  

Project Sustainability

Sustainability of the project is entrenched in the capacity building aspects of its target group. The trained youths will gain the skills which they will later pass on to other youths who will have the interest. URUDO- Uganda mobilizes contributions from its members and these will continue the financing of some key components of the project through individual member monthly subscriptions. The project plans to acquire sewing machines, welding and metal fabrication equipments and establishing a stocked saloon where the youth beneficiaries will be charged a small fee as an alternative source of income. 

Partnership

The project shall partner with the local artisans to train the out of school youth. The project at its inception shall conduct a one day introductory workshop for local leaders and other stakeholders in the district. The discussions, suggestions and recommendations from inception workshops shall form a good basis for the project implementation.

Additional Financing

The project does not expect to receive additional financing from other donors but it expects finances from individual member monthly subscriptions. Cost sharing strategy shall supplement the project finances. The local authorities at sub-counties will provide training venues at subsidized costs for inception workshops as part of their contribution to the project.   

Project Log frame