KIKUUBE, December 1, 2025— More than 350 young people, mainly young mothers who dropped out of school due to their parents’ financial constraints in Kikuube district, now have reason to smile after receiving training and empowerment in vocational skills.
The women are among 527 youth who graduated with certificates in tailoring and design, hairdressing, motorcycle mechanics, catering, electrical installation, welding, building and bricklaying, among other disciplines.
The beneficiaries were selected from Kyangwali and Kabwoya sub-counties, through which the Kingfisher oil feeder pipeline passes.
They underwent three to four months of training delivered by the Caron Relief Development Foundation and the Assessment and Skills Centre, with sponsorship from China National Offshore Oil Company Uganda [CNOOC Uganda Ltd], the company undertaking the Kingfisher oil development project in Buhuka Parish, Kyangwali Sub-county.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony, held at Bugoma Primary School in Kyangwali Sub-county recently, the graduates described the training as a major opportunity to overcome the unemployment challenges they have long faced.
Brenda Kusemererwa, a young mother and Primary Four dropout from Kamwokya Village, said the training had transformed her life.
“I am happy that I have gained this skill. People in my village used to speak ill of me, saying I was useless to my mother. But now I’m going to start a salon, make money, and look after myself, my mother and my child,” she said.
Fiona Aijuka, a teenage mother from Nyairongo village in Kabwoya Sub-county who trained in tailoring, expressed joy at the skills she had acquired, saying they would help her become self-reliant.
“Because my mother had no money to support my education, I dropped out, and the only work I did was helping her in the garden. I’m excited to have gained this skill—it will help me to have my own job,” she said.
Eric Daniel Jumba, CNOOC’s National Content Manager, said the beneficiaries were trained under the company’s national content skilling agenda. He explained that the vocational skills programme was launched after it became clear that many youths, especially young mothers, had dropped out of school and lacked the skills needed to benefit from employment opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
“Eighty per cent of the beneficiaries are mothers who were not able to get direct jobs in the oil and gas sector. We didn’t want to leave them behind, so we established programmes to help them gain skills that would lift them out of poverty, skills that would either enable them to gain employment or start their own businesses,” he said.
Jumba added that all graduates were provided with start-up kits, including welding machines, sewing machines, tool kits and salon equipment. He urged local leaders to monitor the beneficiaries to ensure the kits are put to proper use.
Dismas Babihemaiso, the chairperson of Nsonga A village in Buhuka parish, said the training would change lives within the community and reduce idleness among youths—a factor that has previously contributed to crime in the area.
“Youths who have been wasting time on non-productive activities will now be able to engage in meaningful development work,” he said.
He acknowledged that many young people in the community still lack skills to sustain themselves and appealed for more training opportunities for those who missed out.
However, he cautioned the beneficiaries against selling the start-up kits provided to them and urged them to use their new skills to create jobs rather than waiting to be employed.
https://thecooperator.news/cnooc-enhances-livelihoods-donates-to-health-centres-and-schools/
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