For young Ugandans coming from rural areas, it is less likely for them to compete in the job market, because they do not have established networks and may not be able to attend good schools because of the cost.

Reports in 2002 reveal that youth unemployment in Uganda was estimated to be approximately at 23% and has since risen to 32.2%. Facts about youth unemployment indicate that 53% of the Ugandan labor force consists of people between 14 to 64 years old. About 85% of the labor force occurs in rural areas (where Teso sub region is), in which close to 77% of workers either have no education or have only attained primary education. In addition, 75% of the labor force are below 40 years old. This data shows that the majority of the individuals entering the labor force are unequipped for vocational success.

Youth unemployment, if not addressed properly, has social and economic consequences in which young adults are forced to find alternative ways to generate income to survive. Unemployed youths migrate from rural to urban areas for work, which negatively impacts the social services sector in urban centers. Youths who remain unemployed or underemployed and do not leverage their full potential are trapped and discouraged by miserable job prospects. Some turn to street sex work, violent criminal activities, gambling, and drug abuse to survive. This ends up harming their potential, and destructive behaviors may lead them to criminal acts. It is these challenges that HopeChest Uganda intends to address by establishing a vocational skills center.

HopeChest has, in the past five years, trained 100 youth with different skills and empowered them to start their own businesses using the skills they attained. HopeChest Uganda is hopeful that we can create a more inclusive, holistic training for our youth through a skills-training center, which shall be managed jointly with the community.