For many of Uganda’s young graduates, the transition from school to work is encumbered by various obstacles. One of these obstacles is the lack of hands-on skills required by the labour market which Universities and other educational institutions are not able to provide.

To address this obstacle and enhance the young graduates’ employability, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) have partnered with the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MoGLSD) on the Uganda Graduate Volunteer Scheme (UGVS) – a project that is intended to provide a bridge for young Ugandan graduates as they transit from school to work.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒐𝒃𝒋𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆?

The main objective of the UGVS is to create employment avenues for young graduates while building the capacity of national institutions, private sector and other key partners to mainstream youth employment into their work places.

The Scheme utilizes volunteerism as an avenue for youth’s contribution to societal development challenges and a pathway to providing the youth with the soft skills required to be employable or to create employment for themselves. Volunteers are employed in various public and private institutions which are partnering with the Scheme.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆?

• 97 graduate volunteers have been selected, trained and placed in 23 host institutions for 12 months.

• Reports from the host institutions indicate that the 97 volunteers are performing very well and many of them are likely to be retained and offered jobs after the 12 months

• For 2019,our host institutions will include Sanlam Insurance, Tropical Bank Limited, Nation Media Group,Hima Cement, United Nations Development Programme(UNDP), Kampala Capital City Authority, Equal Opportunities Commission and the Uganda Blood Transfusion Service(UBTS).112 volunteers will be placed under the 2019 intake.

• Some of the host institutions for the first cohort of volunteers include the Ministry of Gender,Labour and Social Development, Nation Media Group(NMG) and the National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda(NUDIPU).

• Mid-year training has been conducted for the 97 volunteers. The training focused on soft and social skills.

• Formed partnerships with private sector and Civil Society organisations to take on the volunteers

• Sensitized 210 technical officers from MDAs and the Private Sector.
𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒂 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒎𝒆?

• Only Ugandan Nationals (citizens) are eligible

• Should be youth aged from 18 to 35 years

• Graduates from different tertiary and university institutions with Masters, Bachelor’s, Diplomas and Certificates

• Has been unemployed, underemployed, or out-of-school and inactive for four years or less after

• The selection takes into account the gender and special interest groups and regional balance.

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒆?

Organizations and enterprises interested in hosting volunteers can apply online as host institutions.

• UGVS will conduct due diligence to ensure the institution meets the required standard.

• The institution’s request for volunteers will be reviewed in line with the scheme’s target as well as requests from other interested institutions.

𝑯𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐:-

• Provide a workspace and work tools for the volunteer

• Provide a comprehensive induction for the volunteer

• Work with the volunteer to develop a work plan and a career development plan.

• Hold regular review meetings to assess the volunteer’s progress

• While the scheme will provide a volunteer stipend, we’ll expect host institutions to pay for any other pre-approved expenses incurred by the volunteer during execution of his/her duties.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕?

The sectors of placement are:-
1. Agriculture
2. Finance and Banking
3. Tourism and hospitality
4. Information Communication and Technology
5. Infrastructure Development including construction
6. Energy and Minerals
7. Health
8. Education
9. Social Development

For information about how to apply, visit https://gvsuganda.org/aboutgvs

For inquiries you can also email the UGVS team on info@gvsuganda.org and you will have a reply as soon as possible