THE HARVEST IS RICH, LABOURERS ARE FEW

By Everest Turyahikayo-Kampala, Uganda
International Human resource Consultant

I recently watched a conference proceeding in which one consultant told youths that there are no jobs in Uganda. He concurred with many people who believe that the highest level of unemployment in Uganda is due to lack of jobs. I think this is a misconception about job scarcity, and offers no career direction to the millions of youths still in schools and colleges. There are many jobs in Uganda for people with relevant skills.

The Biblical saying that ‘the harvest is rich but labourers are few,’ Luke, 10:2 is very fundamental in examining unemployment problem in Uganda. There is no single moment in time when labour was sufficient in Uganda. This is even manifested by the outcry of government about lack of enough doctors in the county. Taking a deductive approach, one can observe that there is not enough number of gaenacologists in the country. Dentists, cancer and heart specialist are found in Kampala though very few. I do not think Uganda has enough text tile engineers. In every corner of this country, teachers of science subjects and languages are very few. It is common to find one teacher of mathematics teaching in over five schools in a municipality. The same situation applies to the teachers of English, French, Latin, German and Literature.

Many job seekers want to search for the right jobs yet possess irrelevant skills. Those with relevant skills have indeed landed on the right jobs. Others have relevant skills in professions where there is little demand for labour. In such professions, competition for the available jobs is very high.

In some organizations, an employee must retire or die first so that a vacancy is created for a new entrant. It is in such professions where labour is cheap and employers exploit this situation to their advantage. Job seekers do not have bargaining power and are compelled by the circumstances to accept any salary offer. Job seekers do not ask for the right jobs instead they ask for any jobs available, thereby exposing their desperation and frustration to the employer.

Employers have also complained of the poor work ethics of most professionals. Having the right academic qualifications in a highly competitive field does not mean automatic employment. Core human values expected of an employee play an important role in increasing employment opportunities. These include honesty, sense of responsibility, temperance and prudence. There is an increasing demand for these values by employers. Unfortunately, very few job seekers possess them.

Today jobseekers plan for which type of car to buy and the size of the house they will construct before they start earning. When their first job cannot enable them meet these needs, they resort to stealing from the organization. I have not found any employer who can tolerate such intolerable behaviour. Many of these job seekers change jobs time and again because they are never contented and are regularly fired. It is common to find a CV showing regular change of jobs as if the job seeker is an organizational tourist.

It is important to acknowledge the fact that demand for certain skills and professions is ever increasing in Uganda. The youth should be taught this fact at an early age so that they prepare for them. Parents should also be sensitized about the available jobs so that they prepare their children for those jobs.
There is need to improve on the rural infrastructure especially roads, electricity, hospitals and schools to attract young graduates.

Ethics should be taught right from primary education to university. An accomplished professional graduate should differentiate between good and bad actions. Job seekers should therefore be able to appreciate utilitarianism and Kantian categorical imperativism as important approaches to responsible living.