A group of local artisans in Yumbe District is being trained to deliver technical and vocational skills to refugee and host-community youth, as part of a wider effort to help young people build livelihoods and start their own businesses.

The training is being run under the ASPIRE project, implemented by ADRA Uganda and funded by Norad, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, through ADRA Norway. ASPIRE stands for Action for Strengthening Partnership in Inclusion, Resilience, and Education and runs from 2024 to 2028.

Since 2024, ADRA Uganda has partnered with Bugema University Vocational School to deliver technical and vocational education and training to 300 youth every year. The youth are drawn from Zones 2, 3, 4, and 5 of Bidi-Bidi Settlement, as well as host communities in Yumbe District.

This week, Bugema University’s School of Agriculture is leading a two-day Training of Trainers for 12 local TVET artisans. The artisans will go on to train the 300 selected youth in four courses: waste management, including mushroom production; organic pesticides and fertilizers; animal feed production; and cereal processing.

The training is being facilitated by trainers from the School of Agriculture, along with the Head of the BuBII Centre, Madam Rachael, and the Bugema University Vocational School Principal, Madam Gladys Patience Kakembo. The BuBII Centre is supporting the training as an entrepreneurship enhancement unit within the university. A formal competency assessment for the trained youth is planned for September.

Speaking at the training, ADRA’s Country Program Manager, Mr Ronald Alilo, said the aim is to help young people become job creators rather than job seekers. Many of the youth in the program are refugees, and some may eventually return to their countries of origin, where the skills they gain could help them start their own enterprises.

“We need people here to be job creators, not job seekers,” the Country Program Manager said.

The Vocational School Principal said the core partnership is between Bugema University and ADRA, with the program run by the Vocational School and delivered through the School of Agriculture. The BuBII Centre is supporting the effort with entrepreneurship enhancement, helping ensure the skills learners gain can translate into viable businesses.

Once the Training of Trainers concludes, the 12 artisans will begin delivering the four courses to the 300 youth selected for the program. The training reflects a broader push under ASPIRE to move beyond emergency relief and invest in skills that refugee and host community youth can use to support themselves long after the project ends.

This article is part of ongoing coverage of the ASPIRE project, implemented by ADRA Uganda with funding from Norad through ADRA Norway.