Project Details

Youth unemployment and limited access to practical, marketable skills continue to affect many vulnerable young people in the Rwenzori region despite the area’s growing tourism and hospitality potential. Many youth, especially women, girls, school dropouts, and young mothers, remain excluded from employment opportunities due to poverty, limited access to affordable vocational training, and lack of employable skills required in the labour market. Most vulnerable youth are unable to access conventional training institutions because of distance, high training costs, rigid schedules, and strict academic requirements, leaving many households trapped in unemployment, low incomes, and dependency.

With support from Enabel and in partnership with Rwenzori Royal Institute, CODEA implemented the Skills for Jobs in Tourism and Hospitality (SKIJOT) Project to strengthen youth employability and socioeconomic resilience in Kasese District. The project equipped 150 vulnerable youth, women, and girls with practical vocational skills in catering, tour guiding, tourism-oriented tailoring, jewellery making, entrepreneurship, and work readiness skills through flexible satellite training centres established in Maliba and Kitswamba and Rwenzori Royal Institute in Kasese Municipality. The project further supported work-based learning, financial linkages, and youth-led enterprises through start-up kits and mentorship. As a result, over 50% of the trainees were absorbed into the labour market, including hotels, tour companies, and self-employment ventures established through the skills acquired under the project.

Join us or trust us with funds to amplify vocational skills development, youth entrepreneurship, mentorship, employment creation, and inclusive livelihood opportunities for vulnerable young people in underserved communities across Uganda.