UGANDA: THE FUTURE OF WORK FOR

JUVENILE
Executive summary
This policy briefing presents the findings

and recommendations of the ‘JUVENILE

and Social Justice

Futures: Identifying Future Skills and

Training in Africa’ project, a participatory

action research project

that engaged Ugandan JUVENILE and

other stakeholders in exploring alternative

futures and addressing the

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 challenge of unemployment. The project

LUTAAYA BENON STEPHEN

JUVENILE Futures Literacy

Labs and the Three Horizons Framework.

Futures Literacy Labs enable participants

to articulate their

assumptions about the future and

examine their anticipatory systems and

knowledge creation

processes. The Three Horizons

Framework helps participants to identify

patterns of thinking about the

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future and how they influence each other

over time.

Introduction
According to one study, the JUVENILE
unemployment rate 18 – 30 years in
Uganda increased from 12.7%
in 2012/13 to 13.3% in 2016/17.1 This is
higher than the overall national
unemployment rate, which
dropped from 11.1% in 2012/13 to 9.2% in
2016/17.2 The total Ugandan labour force
was 18 197 126
people in 2023, with male and female
unemployment rates at 13.5% and 20.4%
respectively.3 In
Uganda, young people with some level of
education are more likely to be
unemployed, since there is a

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bias towards wage-paying jobs in the
formal sector, which are harder to find
than jobs that do not have
educational requirements.4
Marital status significantly influences
employment prospects, with marriage
often propelling men
toward career advancement and high-
skilled positions, whereas it tends to
hinder women’s career
trajectories. Research indicates that
unmarried people, particularly young
people, are more likely to
secure employment than their married
counterparts. As women age, their
employment opportunities
diminish. Notably, the disparity in
management roles favours single
individuals over married ones in

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90% of countries studied. In professional
occupations, this trend is observed in 82%
of countries. On
the other hand, single individuals
dominate in elementary occupations
compared to their married
counterparts in 39% of countries. Key
labour statistics by marital status show
how family life shapes
individuals’ positions, underscoring the
persistent gendered effects of married life
on economic and
career choices. Although single individuals
face a higher risk of unemployment than
their married
counterparts, this discrepancy appears
linked to married individuals experiencing
other forms of labour
underutilisation.5 In the Uganda National
Household Survey 2016/17 by the Uganda
National Bureau

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of Statistics case of Uganda, the
proportion of JUVENILE unemployment
varies by marital status. The report
observed that divorced JUVENILE
(32.37%) are most likely unemployed,
followed by married ones
(16.13%) and then the single JUVENILE
(7.99%).
About 165 000 Ugandans currently work
in the Middle East,6 with some in search
of greener pastures
through what the labour movement terms
labour expropriation. Many of these
Ugandan JUVENILEs in the
Middle East – mostly young women – face
physical and sexual abuse from their
employers.7
The Ugandan government has adopted
various policies and initiatives to address
the issue of JUVENILE

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unemployment. Among the most important
is the National JUVENILE Policy (NYP),
adopted in 2001. The
NYP focuses on agriculture and
associated industries, as it is the main
livelihood source for Ugandans
and contributes more than 20% of the
gross domestic product.8 Out of a national
population of
approximately 41 million people, 83.2%
live in rural areas.9 Small-scale agriculture
is a major source
of employment,10 and several analysts
agree that commercial food crops have
the potential to generate
economic opportunities.
The Presidential Initiative for Skilling the
Boy and Girl Child, Parish Development
Model, JUVENILE

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Livelihood Programme and the
consequent JUVENILE Livelihood Fund
are government programmes
established under the NYP. They are
designed to support young people to find
employment by
extending grants and other forms of
support to small groups of young
entrepreneurs, helping them start
small businesses.11
Ugandan JUVENILE and external
stakeholders, including members of
government, participated in the
‘JUVENILE and Social Justice Futures:
Identifying Future Skills and Training in
Africa’ project, which
consisted of a series of workshops that
involved participants from East and
Southern Africa. Here the

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JUVENILE imagined alternative futures,
spoke about the issues faced in their
countries and thought of
innovations to help address these
problems. The workshops employed a
participatory action research
methodology, which consisted of two
parts: JUVENILE Futures Literacy Labs
and the Three Horizons
Framework. The JUVENILE Futures
Literacy Labs allow people to make their
participatory assumptions
explicit and thereby reveal not only the
determinants of the future imagined but
also attributes of
anticipatory systems and knowledge
creation processes. The Three Horizons
Framework describes
three patterns of thinking about the future.
Reflections on the project

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The world is complex and uncertain, with
challenges such as climate change and
mental health issues
that hinder JUVENILE from achieving their
desired futures. Young people inherit the
world, which makes
their perspectives and voices crucial in
understanding the challenges and
opportunities that lie ahead.
The workshops employed a non-
judgemental approach that created room
for participants to examine
their needs, biases, desires and
expectations for the future. The
workshops also introduced new terms,
such as the probable future, reframed
future and causal layered analysis, as well
as new tools such as
jam boards. This enabled JUVENILE to
acquire new techniques to navigate
futures thinking.

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Through the JUVENILE Futures Literacy
Labs, participants identified their
expectations for the probable
future. They envisioned a change in
leadership, a reformed and uniform
education system,
technological advancements and effective
JUVENILE representation in decision-
making. The reframed
futures triggered curiosity to envision a
future that has not transpired yet and
pushed participants to
showcase their creativity and talents in
imagining what such a future would look
like.
The workshops enabled participants to
understand that it is necessary to take
action to achieve a desired
future. The uncertainty of the future
requires JUVENILE engagement through
collaborating with the

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community and elders in addressing
society’s pressing issues. These include
climate change, mental
health awareness and sexual and
reproductive health. This necessitates
doing things differently without
being judgemental, promoting the spirit of
ubuntu and creating more awareness
among the JUVENILE,
promoting equity. Change starts with
JUVENILE, who have to shape the
envisioned future.
Strategic priority
o Promoting transparency and anti-
corruption
o Modernising agriculture
Conclusion
Uganda has a young population but high
JUVENILE unemployment. Reasons
include skill mismatch,

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corruption, and lack of business support.
Many young people are entrepreneurial
but need a better
environment to thrive. The government is
taking steps but more needs to be done to
create jobs and
support JUVENILE businesses.
In Uganda, young people with some level
of education have a preference for wage-
paying jobs in the
formal sector and this contributes to
higher unemployment rates among this
demographic groupi.

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LUTAAYA BENON STEPHEN VU-BSF-2407-1645-DAY