More than five thousand individuals, predominantly young people, from various western region districts have completed the Presidential Initiative on Export Promotion Industrial Development program, which was run in collaboration with the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT).

The graduates finished their modular transcript in a variety of fields, including hair styling, piggery, motor vehicle maintenance, tailoring, rabbit husbandry, coffee and poultry farming, bricklaying, renewable energy, soap production, juice processing, leather design, motorcycle maintenance, bookbinding, and photography.

Francis Kagonyera, the deputy in charge of the President Advisory Committee on Exports and Industrial Development (PACEID) training office, stated that this was the program’s second graduation, with the first taking place in Kawempe, Kampala.

During the graduation on Saturday, November 11, at Kakyeka Stadium in Mbarara City, Kaponyera thanked Odrek Rwabwogo for initiating the program, saying that it began in 2022 and was carried out in various training centers throughout the region. He also mentioned that the program aims to promote employable skills among Ugandans, promote products, and look for markets.

Our mission is to promote export and look for markets, but we cannot look for markets for things we do not have. Instead, we must go to the grassroots and empower our people and teach them the methods and processes that will increase production and quality for export. This is what we refer to as social economic transformation, Kagongyera said.

According to him, 18 consortium-formed zones would be established across the nation to serve as training hubs for individuals seeking to escape poverty through manufacturing. He said that the 5,000 graduates will be assisted in helping others in their local districts become skilled workers and will be retained in the PACEID database after graduation.

The DIT director, Patrick Byakatonda, stated that the program’s goal is to train and certify the labor force in order to guarantee that the industries have completely skilled labor. Some of these folks, he claimed, already had abilities, but they were uncertified.

Byakatonda called on all interested parties to support the program, stating that several other organizations will receive training in every district throughout the nation.

Collaboration

Odrek Rwabwogo praised the mobilization that brought thousands of people to the training in his virtual speech.

He pleaded with them to consider organizations, emphasizing that effective organization begins at the home, business, and institutional levels. Doing so will build functional consortiums.

All RDCs and other regional stakeholders who organized people were urged to support the program by Rwabwogo. He also expressed gratitude to the Yellow Power group for organizing them by moving down to the villages.

He pledged to arrange for improved instruction in every district, bring together farmers and leaders, and investigate ways to link them to markets and funds in order to expand the economy. If they cooperate, he expressed confidence in the nation’s future, noting that despite its many obstacles, it has managed to draw in foreign investment and open up new markets.

Speaking on behalf of Rwabwogo, Thomas Kategere, the PACEID lead for outreach and training, stated that although Uganda is rich, it is home to the greatest number of impoverished individuals. He urged all Ugandans to contribute to any initiative aimed at reducing poverty. In addition, he called on all interested parties to support President Museveni’s initiative to encourage Ugandans to battle poverty.

Kategere told those in attendance at the graduation that significant efforts have been made by the government to find a market for Ugandan goods. Additionally, he issued a challenge to all elite groups to join the campaign, claiming that some are making poor judgments that are detrimental to both the populace and themselves.

Additionally, he cautioned the locals not to politicize the show.

Lawrence Kagame, the head of Yellow Power in western Uganda, praised the initiative and claimed that 5800 out of the 7328 students had graduated, blaming this on a lack of funding. To guarantee the program’s success and help put a stop to the nation’s unemployment issue, he urged collaboration and effort among all parties involved. He did, however, mention that one of their difficulties is that the program has been politicized.