By David Isabirye

Self employment is viewed as the lee way to success. It is working for oneself, as being an independent contractor. For Mr. Mubiru Faizo, 42, a self sustaining metal fabricator who has been operating a privately owned metal stall in Kisenyi market for the last 20 years, self employment has quite an avalanche of benefits as compared to being employed by someone else.

“ I have been able to pay fees for my children, build a residential house and looked after my family just from my personal business. I am my own boss and I manage my profits and losses”.

One of the best strategies to curb this unemployment level is through self employment. This is a mechanism of crafting job opportunities at individual basis.

It is targeted to strengthening the various private business initiatives. Annually, 150,000 jobs are created to the over 450,000 graduate students from universities and other learning institutions.    Uganda’s higher learning institutions produce about 500,000 graduates per year. However, only about 150,000 are absorbed into gainful employment by the government.

While the crowd of job searches is huge, the ability to stand out (just like Mubiru Faizo of Kisenyi) remains the responsibility of the individual. Many people have successfully prospered as small scale business
practioners as fine artists, Boda Boda riders, metal fabricators, Chapatti makers, Nail painters, Saloon and Hair dressers, Second hand cloth and shoes dealers to mention but a few.

In enforcing Self employment, the development of vocational (technical) education ought to be given priority. This is because it is a channel through which skills can be developed. Vocational training has been lauded as one of the alternatives to help equip the youth with skills that can turn them into job creators than job seekers.