Willmat Development Foundation and partners under the University Outreach Programme have embarked on sensitizing University students through public lectures with knowledge and skills aimed at shaping their minds on the employment environment after university education.
With the theme “shaping the mind set of learners towards employment”, students have been linked to employers and entrepreneurs to share their success stories, impact knowledge and expose them to the working experience.
During a public lecturer held at Kyamobogo University in Kampala on Saturday 14th September 2019, the Head of Communication and Advocacy, Alvin Mutebi at Willmat Development Foundation said that after doing a study to relate the education system and employment, the findings indicated a gap where the students could not apply the knowledge to fit the employment environment; students want to get rich quickly after a short period of work, the internship in not experimental enough among others.
He says that they initiated a series of engagements with the university students to interact with the experts, employers and entrepreneurs to expose them to what they should expect in the real world of work and how to position themselves.
“The study we carried out to relate the education system with the employment system showed that the placement of fresh students from universities is faced with challenges of failure to apply skill learned and this he says keeps them unemployed. We are carrying out a series of engagements with university students to equip them with knowledge from the employment sector from experts, employers, successful entrepreneurs and others. This he says will witness a development contribution from the learned university students” he said
The Managing Director of Chap Chap Uganda, Emanuel Emodek advised the students to begin sacrificing for the future while at university by beginning any income earning enterprise which he says that in the modern world if they leverage on the digital divide in place, they can innovate solutions to influence many people in short time. He urged students to avoid starting enterprises that are reliant on single person decision but embrace those that can walk the process of growth in patient manner.
“Technology enables quick solution to community problems. When you start an enterprise, innovate in the process. Business to see first maturity can take up to five years. Learn in school but interact with the world,” he told students.
Willmat Development Foundation will have more public lectures including Kampala University, Victoria University, Makerere University Business School among others.
By Drake Nyamugabwa
