Uganda - IOM this week organized a two and a half-day training workshop on labour migration and labour market information systems for government officials, employers’ associations, trade unions and international organizations in Kampala.

The objective of the workshop was to gain a common understanding of labour migration and labour market information terminology and concepts, as well as the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders.

The workshop was organized against a backdrop of concern about the size and age of the Ugandan population and the effect this will have on the national labour market. Uganda’s population has been growing at an exponential rate during the course of the past decades, from 9.5 million in 1969 to 24.2 million in 2002 and to an estimated 31.8 million in 2010. Approximately 69.3% of the population is under 24 years of age.

Rapid growth of the population hampers the ability of the economy to generate sufficient employment opportunities for the increasing labour force, in particular for young Ugandans. At the current rate of growth, the labour force expansion requires the creation of at least 600,000 new jobs per year. Indeed by 2025, it is estimated that 28 million jobs will be required for the working age population.

In order to address these issues, IOM brought together, for the first time, officials from different government ministries and other key stakeholders to discuss pertinent issues related to labour migration for the development of the country.

The trainers organized dynamic sessions on bilateral labour arrangements, circular migration, labour market needs assessments and labour force surveys.

Participants discussed the challenges for obtaining practical information on labour markets in order to match supply and demand in an efficient and effective manner. In addition, clear recommendations emerged on the need to protect migrant workers from abuse and exploitation by regulating private recruitment agencies.

The workshop took place in the framework of the project: “Contributing to Improved Labour Market Information” funded by the UK through the UN / Government of Uganda Joint Programme on Population and the IOM Development Fund-supported project: “Strengthening Labour Migration and Productivity in Uganda.”

For more information, please contact

Mariela Guajardo
IOM Kampala
Tel: + 256 312 263 210
E-mail: mguajardo@iom.int