October 2016

As the current core course at Potentiam Youth Development Centre is coming to an end and the students are getting ready for their end of term exams and graduation, the centre provided them with one last week worth of capacity building sessions to ensure that they are ready to tackle all obstacles in their endeavour to find jobs or start their own businesses. During this week the students learnt the do’s and don’ts of interviews with Marianne Øhlckers from Laboremus, the opportunities available to them from group saving loans with Stromme Foundation and the difficult issue of how to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace with the centre’s councillor, Jolly Nakibirango.

One of the hardest parts of getting a job is succeeding in the interview stage. Knowing how to present yourself, what to say/what not to say and how to prepare for an interview are all important issues that HR manager, Marianne Øhlckers, addressed in her capacity building session. Marianne, who has conducted numerous job interviews as an employer, provided the students with her valuable insights. After the session the students participated in role plays, practicing and perfecting the difficult and often asked questions during job interviews.

Finding a start-up loan for a first business is almost impossible for the youth of Uganda. Lucky for our students, Stromme Foundation took some time out of their busy schedule to inform the students about group management micro-finance. Stromme Foundation’s savings groups teach people to come together and manage their finances both as a group as well as individually. Along with creating a savings group, an individual is able to take out a loan from the group to use as a start-up fund for their business. The students learnt the value of maintaining patience, discipline and motivation when creating savings.

An issue that we hope no student will ever have to endure is one of sexual harassment in the workplace. However, if the unfortunate happens we wanted to ensure our students are equipped with the knowledge of how to deal with such an incident. Jolly Nakibirango, the centre’s councillor, informed the students about what constitutes sexual harassment, how to deal with it and the legal avenues available to them in Uganda. The session was followed with a group discussion where all the students engaged in the conversation and asked many questions. When asked to give feedback about the session the students expressed their appreciation for the talk and their new awareness.

– written by Rebekah Harvey