How would you describe yourself in line with your career?
I
am open-minded. I am keen to make a difference. When many people think
things are not working, I believe that it is the responsibility of those
in position to serve and empower others.
My passion is to see that I
make a change in this country in whatever I do, especially when it
comes to empowering people. I think I have created a mark on millions of
Ugandans who have been able to hear me speak, write and support them
through my programmes. I am a go-getter. I am not scared to do anything
regardless of my height, size and age. I have always been like that.
You speak a lot about motivating the youth, what inspires you to do that?
We
always say that the youth are the future. My slogan is: “There is no
future, the future is now.” And I want the youth to be aware of this
too. That is why I invest my efforts, believe in the youth, uplift,
mentor and support them.
Under the Skills Development Facility
(SDF), I make sure the youth are given special priority to be able to
access our support. What motivates me are the people who have touched me
in life since I was 18 years of age and believed that I would make it.
If such people gave me a chance to lead, and I have led people for a
long time since, I need to motivate more young people to achieve.
Which areas are you keen on when interacting with young people?
I
have talked to young and old people who feel like there is no hope for
them to achieve a number of things. You will find someone who has been
jobless for five to 10 years and you wonder whether their joblessness is
a result of their lack of any skills or they just do not know how to
present themselves. These are key issues.
People give up so fast.
They try once, twice, thrice and if it does not work, they give up. I
believe that even the negative helps you to learn, make better decisions
and live a better life. The bad moments and decisions we make in life
should not hold anyone back.
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Who shaped you into the person you are today?
I
have had several people in my life. My first mentor was my father. He
believed in the ability of the girl-child to do more. He always
encouraged us. He was keen to know how well we performed and how we
faired at school.
In school, I was always among the 10 best students
in my class. And I have always been able to balance multiple
responsibilities, my father was key. He gave me the courage and
determination and challenges to show me I had to go through huddles. I
remember the first jobs I did were because of him. He made me believe
that if I was going into an organisation, even by volunteering, I would
be able to showcase my strength, skills and abilities.
The
other important person in my life is Sarah Kitakure my former boss. She
gave me my first trip on a plane, to the United Nations Habitat meeting
but I failed to get a visa and I felt so bad but her seconding me was
encouraging enough. Then she assigned me to coordinate a trip to take
some women to Germany and I did so. She gave me opportunities to travel
and present at meetings.
We need to always give others a chance. I
know of organisations where the boss takes all trips by themselves. If
you do not allow young people chances for exposure, you are denying them
opportunities to grow. Sometimes all a person needs is someone to
believe in them.
Where is the missing linking between skills and the job market and career?
You
have someone who has been to the university and thinks they will get to
an organisation and become a manager. No, not at all. You can have your
degree but the job market is different. There are particular skills
that you need, for example being able to present yourself, lead,
interpersonal skills, team building so sometimes people think that
because they have a first class degree, it is enough. It is not enough.
I
conduct interviews, I employ people. We need to encourage people to
volunteer in various places. When you volunteer, you are able to learn.
There
is also an element of skills’ mismatch whereby what you studied is not
exactly what the employer needs. We have had a big challenge where
people study things that are irrelevant in the world of work. You are
interested in working in a factory or an office and have never entered
one if you have studied agriculture, familiarise yourself with a farm.
People look at an ideal salary which should not be the major focus.
What is your opinion about the newly proposed curriculum?
It
is a good and we should support it. We have been complaining that the
curriculum does not meet the requirements of the industry. Now that the
change has come, we can use the chance to see how it is performing and
if there are any areas that need improvement, we can provide feedback to
the ministry.
We need to encourage the Ministry of Education to
promote more work based learning. We need to have more apprentice
programmes and exposure of the lecturers to the industry. We have
lecturers that have never been in the world of work because the moment
they get a first class degree, they go for a master’s programme and PhD
so even they are a problem. We need to solve that.
What is your advice to the young people?
The
sky is the limit. Your future is now and it is ready for those who are
ready to work and think and work on their skill set to meet the demands
of the job market.
How do you balance work and family?
It
is not easy but I try as much as possible to get time for many things.
It is not only about my work. I serve on six boards. I variously do
public speaking. I attend so many national and international
conferences. I do a lot of mentoring and I am a mother to three girls
too. I am a wife and I run several businesses as well. I do each of
these at the right time. I manage my time. I plan. If I put in six hours
of work, it is worth 25 hours of work. I know when to respond to
emails, meet new people and chat on the phone. It is only successful
people that are busy. If you are not successful, no one is going to ask
for you. And because I want to be at the top, I try to fit each and
everything in my schedule. I am a passion driven individual so I never
do anything I am not passionate about. I want to ask young people to
follow their passions. It will deliver them to success.
