{"id":32489,"date":"2026-09-14T12:05:41","date_gmt":"2026-09-14T09:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?p=32489"},"modified":"2026-09-14T12:05:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-14T09:05:43","slug":"tridi-calls-for-greater-focus-on-practical-skills-as-they-mark-international-youth-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/skilling\/tridi-calls-for-greater-focus-on-practical-skills-as-they-mark-international-youth-day\/","title":{"rendered":"TRIDI Calls for Greater Focus on Practical Skills as they Mark International Youth Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By John Jimmy Musimbi<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Tropical Institute of Development Innovations (TRIDI) has called for greater emphasis on practical skills development as Uganda seeks to expand employment and economic opportunities for its growing youth population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TRIDI made the call as it joined communities around the world to commemorate International Youth Day under the theme \u201cDifferent Contexts, Common Aspirations.\u201d The celebrations were held at TRIDI\u2019s headquarters at Nandudu Place, Kyabakadde, Mukono District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event brought together more than 200 young people, alongside community leaders and stakeholders from the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector. Participants received information on skills development opportunities and engaged in activities focused on mentorship, digital skills, sexual and reproductive health, menstrual hygiene and youth employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning skills into opportunities<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

TRIDI says practical training is essential in helping young people move from classroom learning to productive work. Its training approach incorporates hands on learning, practical demonstrations, industrial exposure and skills competitions, enabling learners to apply technical knowledge in real-world settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emmanuel Walimbwa Mukhama, Head of Training and Capacity Enhancement at TRIDI, says the Youth Day activities were designed to give young people both skills and information that can support their personal and economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe gave them digital skills and mentorship, alongside sessions on sexual and reproductive health and menstrual hygiene,\u201d Mukhama said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that the event also provided an opportunity to introduce community members to the Sustainable Inclusive Youth Employment Pathways (SIYEP) programme and the opportunities available through it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For young people already undergoing training at TRIDI, the value of practical learning is reflected in the skills they are acquiring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Babirye Rebecca Oprah, a tailoring and fashion student, said the training had transformed her ability to make garments and given her confidence to consider self-employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI came when I didn’t know anything about tailoring, but now I can sew many types of clothes,\u201d she said, adding that she plans to start her own business after completing her training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nakaddu Saidat, an ICT student, similarly said her training was helping her develop computing skills that she hopes will improve her employment prospects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Linking training to employment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

TRIDI Programme Manager Demas Kutosi said the Youth Day engagement also brought together stakeholders from the community and TVET ecosystem to discuss opportunities for young people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He noted that TRIDI’s youth skills programmes cover areas including hairdressing, tailoring and welding,<\/strong> with some trainees already transitioning into work. Through SIYEP, eligible participants can also receive additional support, including start up kits, to strengthen their transition into economic activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The approach reflects TRIDI’s broader focus on People, Skills & Opportunity, one of its strategic communication pillars, which places learners, women and youth at the centre of stories about skills, careers and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond vocational training, TRIDI is also working across productive sectors including agriculture, coffee and sericulture, linking skills development with innovation, production and value-chain opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pathway beyond the classroom<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The International Youth Day engagement highlighted a central question facing young people; how can education and training translate into meaningful work and sustainable livelihoods?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For TRIDI, the answer lies partly in making skills development more practical, market relevant and connected to real opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The institute’s strategy places emphasis on translating education, training, innovation and development work into communication that informs, connects, mobilises and creates pathways to action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Uganda continues to address youth unemployment, TRIDI says strengthening practical skills, entrepreneurship and pathways into work will remain important in enabling young people to participate more fully in the country’s economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By John Jimmy Musimbi The Tropical Institute of Development Innovations (TRIDI) has called for greater emphasis on practical skills development as Uganda seeks to expand employment and economic opportunities for its growing youth population. TRIDI made the call as it joined communities around the world to commemorate International Youth Day under the theme \u201cDifferent Contexts, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":32490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84,33,56,92],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-africa","category-skilling","category-technology","category-vocational-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=32489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32491,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32489\/revisions\/32491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/32490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=32489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=32489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tridi.org\/?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=32489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}