Job Market in Uganda and the Region

There are many sources of employment in Uganda. the major ones are:

1. Government

2. Non Governmental Organizations 

3. Telecommunications Companies

4. The Education Sector

5. Media

Government

The role of government in Employment cannot be down played. In this regard the nature of politics has meant that to a large extent most opportunities have had to be distributed to trusted mainly pro-movement supporters. This has been an unavoidable path for a system that is built and that depends wholly on presidency as the supreme source of leadership and in respects the only true fountain of honest leadership. This is reflected in many ways and manifests itself in the numerous demands for responses from the president to help mitigate land issues, local disputes within families and many more often trivial issues that many feel would remain unresolved without his hand. While you could argue that this is a weakness in the presidency and especially one that has been in place for so long, we have similar effects in the neighborhood of Tanzania where a party takes that place of the presidency (which is better regulated) and manages to entrench itself in other significant but in some way unrelated aspects of local life such as the employment of citizens and their access to opportunities. 

Local government in the attempts to improve service delivery have found it useful to create patterns similar to those that are used in the health sector where there has been a push to have a health center accessible at a distance of about 4 miles. 

Even if the growth and emergence of more districts has been pushed by many locals, the same has been criticized by others for creating governance and employment complexities. That said, the District Service Commission of Arua For example was responsible for the creation of 55 jobs in health as well as general office management. Gomba advertised 5 jobs, Kabarole Advertised 2 (New Vision Monday 17th February 2014) 

Non-government Organizations 

The civil society groups in the region have played a prominent role as the de facto supporters of the opposition as well as the attempt to play the role of the nations' conscience. By establishing NGOs foreign governments have had the ability to engage with government in creation of employment opportunities as well as in the management of funds often sent in through partnerships with these NGO. The job seekers therefore often has to watch the local space for funds that are released in areas like Roads (European Union), Disease Control (USAID) and Trade Related issues such as AGOA (where the U.S sought to create opportunities that would enable locals to take advantage of American Markets). Because of the linkages between government and NGOs many of these opportunities often take place at the time when government announces the release of funds for specific needs. Reproductive Health Uganda had 11 offers, PACE had an opening for team leader in reproductive health as well as a quality assurance position. In addition to this and in relation to the previous two, there was an opening for marketing and health officer for the Clinton Health Access Initiative (Monday 17th February 2014). 

Telecommunications Companies

The emergence of new players in the always presents new opportunities for employment. The only challenge is that often these companies tend to recruit professionals that are already in place with other local players and that are familiar with the local market. This leads to a recycling of ideas so that the marketing campaigns of new groups bear frightening similarity with those of previous players. 

There is also a balance of hires and fires which means that if 10 jobs are created fifteen can be lost in the same breath. In addition to this it is important to identify jobs that are dependent on larger industries. As such marketing, sales, client support (call centers) are also bound to thrive as an indirect result of the rise of a new player in the industry. 

The Education Sector 

The rise of new technologies and new opportunities often causes a growth in the Education Sector. This growth in Uganda for example would bring about the expansion of programs to include oil and gas (extraction and exploration) as well as other development that sought to capitalize on Uganda unique geographical location (Business Process Outsourcing). 

Gulu University had one opening for an accounting assistant, Kumi University had 2 major top level appointment that were advertised for Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Uganda Christian University had 17 opening for administrative as well as for lecturing and teaching positions (Monday 17th February 2014)

Media (Print, Audio and Visual and Publishing)

The decision to transition from analogue to digital signals has brought about a increase in providers. This has meant that the visual space has flourished. As a result the need to producers, editors, directors as well as presenters has increased. The Vision Group has emerged as a significant player in this sector and had managed to expand the scope of its services from print to visual in not just one language but also into regional coverage, to exhibitions of all sorts from weddings to construction, to business development and innovation and much more. The Vision Group had 39 job openings ranging from camera operators to accountants to engineers and editors. (Monday 17th February 2014)

Regional concerns and other trends 

The push towards regionalism has meant than anyone with any serious career development prospects has had to think critically about the region. This means for example having a knowledge of different policy documents in the area regarding employment and to some extent travel, import and export, infrastructure development, minerals as well as the complexities around governance and leadership. So knowledge of local languages is a plus, ability to travel, a background in consultancy is also recommended. 

These regional concerns also force the keen observer to watch foreign players like China, the U.S, Europe as well as the activities of regional giants like Egypt (which influences development on the Nile), South Africa (which has played a major role in calming political tensions in the region), Nigeria (which is defining the manner in which emerging oil economies in the area navigate with other suppliers and processors). 

The Entrepreneurs

It is also important to take into account the demographics in the region which favor youth. Anyone who ignores the young populations does so at their own risk. It also valuable to realize that the bulk of this group thrives on small business. This is why there must be a deliberate action to create and promote more innovation spaces and to push for more business development services like PAKASA (From The Vision Group) which should be expanded to function regionally and to provide business support services much like the Agricultural Extension Services that were designed to function with NAADS programs. Efforts must also be made to re-connect the young people that have fallen out of the system of education to get back into it and to get hands on training to boost their employability. The entrepreneurs have to be given a unique space because there are very few ads in the paper for this specific group. 

War in Heaven-Ebony springs

This week we saw the dawn of what I will describe as an ebony spring. 

Previously with the exception of Burkina Faso, there were springs emerging from predominantly lighter skinned and mainly Arab Africa. 

Tunisia had emerged from its fog after a young man struggling with employment doused himself in petrol and then lit the match. This event had gone on to bring about an awakening in Egypt whose streets were soon overtaken by crowds of eager demonstrators calling for change. 

In previous blogs I had ruminated about the existence of an imaginary mason dixon line which roughly splits Africa into two sections much like the pre-independence America. I had gone on to describe the nature of this divide along mainly religious lines which also often take on a certain hue. 

So Burkina Faso was a breath of fresh air for many. For the first time, the sons of biblical Joseph seemed to have began a rebellion of sorts after decades and even centuries of casualness and passivity. This marked a spring that was now owned exclusively by black people.

The demonstrations in Burundi seemed to have taken in a similar format however my ears grew attentive when for a brief moment the activity in the streets was referred to as war. What this meant was that there was a brief opportunity to capture the narrative away from the agreements that were singed after the civil war (agreements preventing an extension of term limits) as well as ideas behind hallowed documents such as the constitution. Calling the activity in the city war, would therefore justify a measure of violence and if possible nip in the bud any commitments that would be made by any generals or top cops. 

Maybe this calculation would help prevent any strategic moves by influential leaders to steal the thunder from the activists and civil society groups or citizens for that matter. 

There were and are fears about driving a wedge between the two major ethnic groups a la Rwanda but the text was pretty solid and the variations clear. Regardless of the tribe or the current leader, the people...those that had managed to make it into the streets were calling for a respect of their sacred documents. They were challenging the member of the military to abide to the higher law. Similar sentiments were echoes in previous debates between the Congolese who struggled though the same concerns and other ideas would also emerge in neighboring Rwanda. 

All this was taking place across a complex backdrop of immense mineral wealth as well as the rise of well armed and well funded militias drawing in leaders across the region and causing convoluted relationships between states. 

So the involvement by a section of the army was a welcome development but it has not stolen the show from the civil society and the community at large. What it has revealed is a major or for some minor rift in the military machine and brought about a ratcheting up of an already strained management system. 

And while it might be attractive to summarize such complex ideas in such brief spaces, the hope is that we might distill a little more from the initial awakening in Tunisia which in my view was really about youth and unemployment. It should be noted that even after the massive and in some ways commendable changes in that country, the exodus of bright young North African minds has not ceased. If this is an invasion, then it's strategist has chosen an incredible method-and that by depleting the continent of its most prized possession-it's people. 

Regress or Progress: a film series drawn from a continent a far off

Its been a few months since black history month. I am planning to attend the event at the U.S Embassy in Uganda, thrilled that I have access to an impressive library of books and other resources. 

To get to the venue, I will have to negotiate Kampala's interesting transport and infrastructure system. One taxi from Mengo to Kla. The driver pulls a first one and decides to go through Lubaga instead of going down Namirembe Rd. there are some complaints in the Taxi but the driver and his healthy assistance are without response. 

We disembark many of us rather disoriented. The crew that had promised to take us to one destination have changed their minds and their route. I need a quick route to the taxi park that has been designated to take us to the Kansanga, Bunga, Ggaba area. I chose a boda boda. 

The chauffeur will use a complex route of interwoven streets interspersed with white chalk like covered males in narrow stretches of visibly prosperous but not so obvious business places. 

This is a hub of business for millers of maize. It is also home to a large Somali community as well as the headquarters of one of Kampala's most popular Christian ministries. 

Halfway in the chaos, I spot a young lanky dark lady bent and searching for something on the ground. She is barefoot and wrapped in dark clothes and picking beans and corn right behind the massive trucks that are transferring grain into the millers. 

This is not the first time I have seen a similar scene. I have seen this before in Owino Market or St. Balikudembe (they are in a state of peace). 

In another setting an louder lady is doing the same thing and collecting precious beans which she will evidently sell or at least cook for the young one who is not too far from the scene. 

Both women, if I am to go by there garb are Karamojong. A long way from home and living way below the level that Citizens of this country are supposed to live.

Then I remember that I am on my way to see a series covering slavery and it's history in the seventeenth century. 

2014 the year in review.

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There are some who view the world we live in as being rather linear and continuous. I think it is much more complex and has a rather cyclical manner in which it seems to revolve. As such you will find repetitiveness in  certain events which you think you have seen happen before. What you might realize is that there are really no prophets just analysts with a pure and working knowledge of history and a very clear picture about human nature. Maybe there is some truth about what the writer once said we he noted, "...He has placed eternity in the hearts of men...". It could be that this unique feature gives us the ability to walk to and fro across time merging past and present and future in a complex mix without much difficulty. 

So based in this idea instead of leaving 2014 behind, I will attempt to find some unique features that stood out and defined this year with the hope that they might shed some light into the year to come. 

Incidentally they all seem to have the letter P.

1. Prime Ministers

We saw and realized the value of the prime ministers office and to some extent watched at least in these parts a clipping of wings. Reports in the press if they are to be believed spoke about challenges in this office from Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan and Uganda. In Uganda's case, I argue that we really have had a struggle moving from the challenges we faced in the sixties when there was a reported clash between the Ganda King and his Langi Prime minister. We normally have very different manifestations of the power struggle between president and prime minister because of the amount of sway that the prime minister holds over his respective ministers. Weak or inflexible constitutions do not allow much room for take overs but we saw how easily threatening much of these issues can be. 

2. Permanent Secretaries

We also watched as a few rising stars emerged from the civil service. They were stars mainly because of their respective offices and their working knowledge of the system as it stands. This also makes them vulnerable and the list of past casualties is endless. Ministries that were recognized as valuable and potentially large in terms of their attractiveness to donors therefore attracted more attention and drew super star secretaries. We see and will probably see more of characters like Muhakinizi and Bigirimana. 

3. Pastors 

We also after a lot of time began to see the rise of pastors and shepherds as they are referred to here as key contact people. It is no wonder that the great book chose to place these men at the centre of the debate and arrival of the historical messiah. What better group of people than a group devoted to livestock. Bound to protect living creatures under the cover of the sky. Strange too that it is with this group or to this group that heavenly beings chose to present certain aspects of their message. Maybe it is because they represent or are descendants of Abel whose historical clash with his hoe yielding brother Cain are part of the rivalries we continue to see. The battle for lands and the nature of sacrifice.

All that and the realization that for his bed our messiah chose a menger instead. 

4. Petroleum

A self-fulfilling prophecy? After so much excitement about alternative means of energy we finally have a result and we are frustrated!

The price of oil seems to be plummeting and those who were championing the rise of alternative fuels seem to be caught off guard. I this not what you wanted and were planning for?

Have we become a collective group of seers whose mighty predictions are too much for them to deal with?

Where are the champions of solar energy, hydro power, wind energy farms and gas?

5. Propaganda

Some of us have found it difficult appreciating the dawn of the information age. It is possible even under these circumstances to argue that there has always been an information age. In all of this though, it has emerged that those who have claimed a right to certain bits of information and those who have managed to claim a right over the ownership and right to that information have duped the rest of us into giving them quite a lot of authority. We no longer feel educated without their degrees or and approval. We ow invest vast amounts of energy, money and time in getting educated. Naturally this has resulted in the need of greater and control and manipulation of information and This is a trend we will continue to see. 

6. Parasites and pests

We also saw the emergence of the small over the big. The rise of creatures to small to see but powerful enough to exert their influence and cause massive devastation. We faltered and wavered at what to call the new force or power that confronted us but it seems to represent a new form of biological warfare which makes use of microorganisms. We realized a strange balance in power which brought our country to the fore in a fight against a frightening disease and placed our experts right smack dab in the middle of the fight. Unrelated battles regarding intellectual property and the defense of trade (which have defined developed and underdeveloped world relations) could hinge of how we exercise our hold on this latest battle. 

7. Populations 

We were finally able to come up with some figures. We had debated about the rationality of the head count and even asked for special permission to include our cattle (a taboo in these parts where the cow is more sacred than the child). We will continue to see he the numbers which we control will continue to define how well placed we are in the fight for prominence, position and power. We like the Chinese might find ourselves resorting to iron fists which will gradually give way when we have learned how to harness the power of our markets. 

8. Proxies

Not only in the sense of wars but epic religious battles fought by and large by people who bear names that are not there own. Here we saw and will continue to see a clash between religions until the forces behind these religions will come to the fore. I spoke about a revival of tribal beliefs which have suffered the fate of all things primitive. In these parts we will see a return to tradition and naming systems which have existed since time past.