School. Good grades. University. Graduation. Then the job hunt.
Naira Ali believes that familiar formula is failing too many young Ugandans and says the country needs to “change the programming” if it wants a different future.
The US-based Ugandan singer made the argument in a Facebook post alongside a photo she said represented thousands of educated and capable young people waiting for employment opportunities that may never come.
For years, education has been presented as the safest route to a good career. Yet Naira argues that the system often stops at preparing young people to become employees.
Like computers, we have been programmed to search for jobs—but not taught how to create them.
There is more to the problem than a lack of vacancies, in her view.
Young people also need to know how to identify opportunities, manage money, market products, start businesses, solve problems and build enterprises that can survive beyond the first few months.
And while unemployment often sparks criticism of young people, Naira wants the conversation to move in a different direction.
This is not because our young people are lazy or incapable. They are intelligent, creative and very hardworking. But talent without training, resources, mentorship and opportunity can easily become frustration.
Her proposed change starts much earlier than graduation.
Entrepreneurship, she argues, should enter the classroom while children are still developing their interests and skills. Financial literacy, agriculture, technology, manufacturing, business management and practical problem-solving could help students understand how to create value rather than simply look for someone to employ them.
The bigger challenge is what Uganda does with its young population.
Preparing millions of people to compete for a relatively small number of jobs, Naira argues, cannot be enough. The country also needs people who can create businesses, industries and employment opportunities.
That is why her message comes back to the same idea.
It is time to change the programming.
For Naira, the goal is not to abandon education or employment. It is to broaden what young Ugandans believe they can do with the knowledge and skills they acquire.
Let us raise builders, innovators, producers and job creators—not only job seekers.