EFFECTS OF SKILLS ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF REFUGEES IN

IN UGANDA: A CASE OF KYANGWALI

REFUGEE SETTLEMENT

BY

KYARISIIMA TOPHIOUS CHALI

22/MMSHRM/MBR/AUG/07.

SUPERVISOR

DR. JULIET ATWEBEMBEIRE.

A RESEARCH PROPOSAL SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

AND MANAGEMENT IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER’S
DEGREE IN MANAGEMENT STUDIES
(HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT)
OF UGANDA MANAGEMENT
INSTITUTE

FEBRUARY, 2023
 Approval

This proposal titled “the effects of skills on the employment of refugees in the refugee settlements

in Uganda. A case of Kyangwali refugee settlement” is submitted to Uganda management

institute.

……………………………………… …..………………………………

DR. JULIET ATWEBEMBEIRE DATE

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Table of Contents

Approval...........................................................................................................................................i

CHAPTER ONE............................................................................................................................1

INTRODUCTION.........................................................................................................................1

1.1 Introduction................................................................................................................................1

1.2 Background to the Study...........................................................................................................1

1.2.1 Historical Background............................................................................................................1

1.2.2 Theoretical Background..........................................................................................................3

1.2.3 Conceptual Background..........................................................................................................5

1.2.4 Contextual Background..........................................................................................................6

1.3 Statement of the Problem...........................................................................................................7

1.4 Purpose of the Study..................................................................................................................9

1.5 Objectives of the study..............................................................................................................9

1.5.1 Specific Objectives.................................................................................................................9

1.6 Research Questions....................................................................................................................9

1.7 Hypothesis.................................................................................................................................9

1.8 Conceptual Framework............................................................................................................10

1.9 Significance of the Study.........................................................................................................11

1.10 Justification of the study........................................................................................................11

1.11 Scope of the study..................................................................................................................12

1.11.1 Content Scope.....................................................................................................................12

1.11.2 Geographical Scope............................................................................................................12

1.11.3 Time Scope.........................................................................................................................13

CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................13

LITERATURE REVIEW...........................................................................................................13

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2.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................13

2.2 Theoretical Review..................................................................................................................14

2.2.1 Becker’s Human Capital Theory..........................................................................................14

2.3 Vocatioanal Skills and employment of refugees.....................................................................14

2.4 Entrepreneurship skills and Refugee employment..................................................................18

2.5 Human Resource Skills and Refugee Employment.................................................................22

2.6 Summary of Literature Review...............................................................................................24

CHAPTER THREE.....................................................................................................................25

METHODOLOGY......................................................................................................................25

3.1 Introduction..............................................................................................................................25

3.2 Research design.......................................................................................................................25

3.3 Study Population......................................................................................................................26

3.4 Sample Size determination......................................................................................................26

Table 1: Sample size distribution and sampling technique...........................................................27

3.5 Sampling technique and procedures........................................................................................27

3.5 Sampling technique and procedures........................................................................................27

3.6.1 Questionnaire survey............................................................................................................27

3.6.2 Interviews.............................................................................................................................28

3.7 Data collection Instruments.....................................................................................................29

3.7.1 Questionnaire........................................................................................................................29

3.7.2 Interview guide.....................................................................................................................29

3.8 Validity and reliability.............................................................................................................29

3.8.1 Validity and reliability of quantitative research...................................................................29

3.8.2 Validity and Reliability of qualitative research....................................................................30

3.9 Procedure of data collection....................................................................................................31

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3.10 Data Analysis.........................................................................................................................31

3.11 Ethical clearance....................................................................................................................32

References.................................................................................................................................34

iv
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introduction

The right to seek gainful employment is provided for in instruments governing management of

refugees world over. Employment is seen as a vital part of integration and promoting individual

wellbeing for refugees considering their lived skills and employment experiences.

This study seeks to investigate the Effects of skills on the employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement. This chapter presents the background to the study, statement of the problem,

purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions, hypotheses, scope of the study,

significance, justification and operational definition of terms and concepts.

1.2 Background to the Study

This section presents the background of the study. It covers the historical background which

entails the past events of refugee employment, theoretical background which consists of the

theory that will guide the study, conceptual background that look at the main impressions in the

study and contextual background that shows current refugee employment situation in the study

area.

1.2.1 Historical Background

Refugee unemployment has been considered one of the critical problems in developed and

developing countries. Worldwide, according to International Labor organization Report (2020)

there are approximately 89.3 million refugees and 13 percent was estimated unemployed by year

2021. The Refugee Participation rate is highest in Northern America, at 52.6 per cent, followed

by Latin America at 48.9% and sub-Saharan Africa 48.2 %. The lowest rates of Refugee

5
engagement are seen in Northern Africa and the Arab States, where only about 27 per cent of

Refugee participate in the labor force. The global Refugee unemployment rate was projected to

rise by 0.1 percentage in 2020 and a further 0.1% in 2021.

In Africa, it is estimated that 60.3 % of the Refugees are unemployed where by North Africa

accounts for 44.2% and sub Saharan Africa accounts for 16.1% (ILO, 2020). The East African

economic giant trails her counterparts with 39.1% of the Kenyan refugees of working age being

unemployed compared to Tanzania’s 4.1% %, Ethiopia’s 21.6%, Uganda’s 18.1% and

Rwanda’s 17.1% (Vivian, 2018, May, 11). In 2016/2017, the Egyptian ICT sector contributed

3.2 per cent of GDP, and the sector is believed to have provided between 90,000 and 95,000

jobs in the outsourcing industry alone. The contribution of Egypt’s digital economy to the GDP

has increased to 4 per cent in 2019 compared with 3.5 per cent in 2018. There are many

government-led initiatives in digital skills, entrepreneurship and refugee employment in Egypt.

Above all, Egypt’s Vision 2030 aims to build a digital Egypt with refugee inclusion by

“developing the ICT infrastructure, fostering digital inclusion, achieving the transition to a

knowledge-based economy, building capacities and encouraging innovation, fighting

corruption, ensuring cyber-security, and promoting Egypt’s position at the regional and

international levels.

In Uganda, the unemployment rate for Refugees stands at 18.1% Uganda Bureau Of Statistics

Report, (2021). According to Community Integrated Development Initiatives Report (2021) It

was found out that the Refugee Programme established that over 40.4 percent of the Refugee are

involved in agriculture related enterprises; 14.9 were engaged in service, 5.6 in vocational skills,

1 percent in agro-forestry, 0.6 in Information Computer Technology, and 0.1 in creative industry

(Performing Arts, Music, Crafts, Painting). With over a million refugees, Uganda is the third-

6
largest refugee-hosting nation in the world after Turkiye and Columbia, and the largest in Africa

with 1,359,458 refugees, a 16.63% increase from 2018 according to Uganda refugee statistics for

2018. The country has generous policies towards displaced persons. Yet just 18.1 percent of

refugees in Uganda are actively working, compared with 64 per cent among host communities.

Refugees are 35 percentage points less likely than Ugandan nationals to be employed. Refugee

Employment has for long been substandard and inadequate based on their skills levels and

academic documents which seem unrelated to the Uganda education setting. Way back, until

2015 when refugees were introduced to Global Distribution Tool (GDT) by the United nations,

refugees in Uganda were not accessing any digital financial services because their documentation

could not rhyme with the government system. Since then The Ugandan government eased access

to mobile-enabled services for refugees which created some opportunities inform of online

education and online employment.

In Kyangwali, the third largest refugee settlement in Uganda with over 129,673 refugees, 33 per

cent of businesses already use mobile money services and online banking to access their

entitlements. This led to a decrease in employment opportunities for manual workforce who

worked as food truck drivers, loaders, Food distribution point managers and guards which now

ceased and affected personnel who depended on formal and non-formal skills. According to this

study, Skills are seen as a measure to reduce the employment gaps that exist among the refugee

community in Kyangwali Refugee settlement.

1.2.2 Theoretical Background

This study will be guided by Human Capital Theory that was developed by Becker (1993). The

researcher choses to use Human Capital Theory because this theory informs my study, and it

looked at the same category of the persons targeted in this study. This theory asserts that the

7
perception of an individual can be determined by the conditions of the labor market that offer

different opportunities to the individual and employee’s resource of options, particularly the

individuals’ efforts to invest in Skills and training (Mincer, Jacob 2018). Human capital theory

states that an individual’s human capital development, training and education are the most

important investments that one can make because the returns to training investment can be

realized in terms of higher income, improved health and acquisition of better career positions

(Becker, 1993).

Human capital theory rests on the assumption that formal education and skills is highly

instrumental and necessary to improve the productive capacity of a population. In short, human

capital theorists argue that an educated and skilled population is a productive population. In

other words, human capital refers to the ability and efficiency of people to transform raw

materials and capital into goods and services and the consensus is that those skills can be

learned through the educational system. The strengths of Human capital theory rest on the

principles of Vocational skills, Entrepreneurship and Human resource (Theodore Schultz

1960). Human capital development is important for development for its intrinsic value as a

development goal in its own right (Cohen & Soto, 2007).

The theory is relevant to the study variables in that it points out the fact that development of

refugees through skills like education, human resource and entrepreneurship skills must be

observed and utilized to influence employment of refugees inform of self-employment, salary

and wage employment. Thus, refugees as human capital must be trained, educated, and

developed within the system of an organization for the purpose of enhancing productivity of the

organization through the expertise of its workforce (Zidan, 2001). This study will inform the

population of the opportunities of Employment of refugee for example, some of them may start

8
up their own business for self-employment or get absorbed in other organizations for salary and

wage employment depending on the acquired skills. The theory will thus help this study to

examine the effects of skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali refugee settlement.

1.2.3 Conceptual Background

The independent variable is skills and dependent variable is employment. Rajesh (2014) defines

skills as a discipline associated with practiced hands on, learn by doing and on-the-job training

opportunities where learners face several real-life situations and learn to handle them with the

help of qualified trainers and industry experts. Skills is defined as the learned ability to bring

about pre-determined results with maximum confidence often with the minimum amount of time

and energy. (Zhang, Chun-Qing, 2019). Thus skills are built on constructs of Vocational, Human

Resource and Entrepreneurship skills (OECD: 2022).

This study will conceptualize skills as ability to perform one’s activities with competence

(Sanchez et al., 2019). According to Sanchez, skill are a special form of capability useful in

specialized situation or related to the use of a specialized asset.

Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007) defines employment as having a set of abilities, knowledge,

understanding and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and secure

occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful.

In this study employment will be defined as a state of having a dignified paid work.

Employment is thus based on the constructs of self, salary and wage employment.

Wage employment in this study will mean any salaried job under contract (written or not) to

another person, organization in both formal or informal economy.(Mitra Sophie 2011).

9
Self employment will be conceptualized as The state of working for oneself as a freelance or

owner of a business than for an employer (MAYA Dollarhide 2022)

Salary employment will in this study be anyform of periodic payment from an employer to an

employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. (Johnson,G.,Magnusson, M. S.,

Ed. 1997)

1.2.4 Contextual Background

Kyangwali Refugee settlement was opened in the 196os to settle the Rwandan Tutsis who had

fled political turmoil /Attacks from their Hutu counterparts. In 1994 some Rwandans were

repatriated, a few remained and were joined by refugees from the Democratic Republic of

Congo(DRC) after Allied Democratic Forces(ADF) attacks in 1990s back in Congo. Since

1960s, Kyangwali has continued to receive refugees from Rwanda, Democratic Republic of

Congo, South Sudan, Burundi and Kenya to-date. Kyangwali Refugee settlement is found in

Kyangwali Sub county, Kikuube district in the Albertine region, Mid-West part of Uganda. The

year 2015, Kyangwali Refugee settlement had a population of 38,000 persons, but since then

numbers have increased on a daily basis receiving new arrivals from majorly DRC. Currently

Kyangwali has a population of 129,505 refugees (Progress Version 4) a UNHCR and

Government (OPM) database UNHCR, (2021

In 2015, the Government of Ugandan introduced the Settlement Transformation Agenda (STA)

which works through legal frameworks and looks at refugee resilience through skills

development. National Development plan (NDP)111 paved way for comprehensive responses to

address the employment needs of refugees, Skills development was key in this project.

10
A number of youth were given opportunity to train in vocational, entrepreneurship and human

resource skills. Joint Assessment Mission Report (2021).

The Refugee and Host Population Empowerment (REHoPE) funded by world Bank was also

introduced in 2016 to handle gaps in refugee employment and skills trainings, and to supplement

on the efforts of the STA. REHoPE looked at skills development for both refugees and host

community. Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) also a world

Bank funded intervention at Office of Prime Minister (OPM) was launched in 2017 to support

the most vulnerable refugees’ households. OPM DOR annual Report (2021).

In Kyangwali, Partners (World Voices and Green Heat,) received funds from DRDIP to

implement Component 5 of the approaches that includes Strengthening skills and enhancing

employment opportunities. UNHCR through Action against Hunger, Norwegian Refugee

council, CARITAS and Finish Refugee Council has funded skills training projects to strengthen

skills and employment for refugee. OPM DOR annual Report (2021).

All these interventions have been brought on board to enhance the effects of skills on

employment of refugees in Kyangwali, but The trained refugees do not get support of startup kits

to put their skills into action, The projects are on short term basis and they target smaller

numbers, Refugees attitude towards certain specific skills is bad. Others already have specific

trainings from Country of origin which are hard to interprete in Uganda the Country of Asylum.

a bigger population has not been addressed. This study therefore will be conducted in order to).

establish the Effects of Skills on employment of Refugees in Kyangwali Refugee settlement.

1.3 Statement of the Problem.

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Employment is highly underscored as a prerequisite for all people living in Uganda. REHoPE

Agenda (2016). Refugees have a right to study and access gainful employment: Refugee

Convention (1951).

The government of Uganda favors the rights of refugees to do lawful businesses, attain any

lawful training and access dignified and gainful employment: Section 29 (iv), The Refugees Act

(2006). Kyangwali has over a population of 129,505 which should have been a hub of labor

supply to any of the employers and institutions in need of labor and specialized skills. OPM Joint

Commandants’ annual meeting (2019).

The Refugee and Host Population Empowerment (REHoPE) funded by world Bank was also

introduced in 2016 to handle gaps in refugee employment and skills trainings, and to supplement

on the efforts of the STA. REHoPE looked at skills development for both refugees and host

community. Development Response to Displacement Impacts Project (DRDIP) also a world

Bank funded intervention at Office of Prime Minister (OPM) was launched in 2017 to support

the most vulnerable refugees’ households. OPM DOR annual Report (2021)

Despite the favorable policy environment and interventions by the Government of Uganda,

International and local non-governmental organizations to boost employment levels of refugees,

The employment rates have remained low. (The national Employment policy for Uganda; 2011).

Kyangwali Refugee settlement still has a problem of low rates of the wage Employment, (10%),

salary employment (08%) and self-employment (11%) compared to other settlements like

Nakivale where at least 56% refugees are actively self, wage or salary employed.

This could be as a result lack of skills in entrepreneurship, vocational and Human resource skills.

12
There are also issues of low funding, short projects in skills training, lack of startup kits for

beneficiaries, poor attitude and poor interpretation of already attained skills documents

qualifications. If this low rates of employment (29%) is not addressed, there will be increased

rates of prostitution, thefts, drug abuse, teenage and single mothers, GBV and suicide among

other risky behaviors.

This study will therefore examine the effects of skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali

refugee settlement.

1.4 Purpose of the Study

This study will examine the effects of skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali refugee

settlement.

1.5 Objectives of the study

1.5.1 Specific Objectives

i. To investigate the effects of entrepreneurship skills on employment of refugees in

Kyangwali Refugee settlement

ii. To find out the effects of human resource skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement

iii. To find out the effects of Vocational skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement

1.6 Research Questions.

i. What are the effects of entrepreneurship skills and employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement?

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 ii. What are the effects of human resource skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement?

iii. What are the effects of Vocational skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali

Refugee settlement?

1.7 Hypothesis

H0: There is a significant effect on entrepreneurship skills and employment of refugees

H0: There is a significant effect on human resource skills and employment of refugees

H0: There is a significant effect on vocational skills and employment of refugees

1.8 Conceptual Framework.

A conceptual framework is developed in order to suggest the effects of skills on the employment

of refugees

Skills (IV)

Vocational skills
 Cookery
 Computer literacy
Employment of refugee (DV
 Networking and innovation
Human Resource Skills
 Self-employment
 Team work
 Salary employment
 Leadership
 Wage employment
Entrepreneurship Skills
 Access to credit
 Business plan development

14
Figure 1.1: European Journal of Business and Management (2013).

From the above conceptual framework, Skills constitute the independent variable and in this

particular case, this will be comprised of Entrepreneurship, Human resource, and Vocational

skills However, the researcher is also aware that besides Skills there are other factors like

Migration, career guidance, communication and location that may influence employment of

Refugees but these will not be measured in this study.

According to Dacre Pool and Sewell (2007) employment is defined as having a set of abilities,

knowledge, understanding and personal attributes that make a person more likely to choose and

secure occupations in which they can be satisfied and successful.

In this study employment will be defined as a state of having a dignified paid work.

Employment is thus based on the constructs of self-employment, salary employment and wage

employment. (Mandelman and Montes – Rojas, 2009)

1.9 Justification of the study

Kyangwali Settlement was chosen because it’s currently a receiving settlement and the work

force age is currently at 54.3%. This study is justifiable because refugee unemployment may

reach unprecedented levels as seen in the statement above .If this study is not done refugee

unemployment may reach unmanageable levels for Kyangwali and Uganda as a whole. This

study should be done such that the undesirable effects do not escalate. This study is predicted to

unveil the potential solution for refugee employment in Kyangwali Refugee settlement which

findings can also provide a foundation for further investigations to find sustainable employment

solution among refugees in Uganda. Thus this study will harmonize the Effects of skills on

employment of refugees in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.

15
 1.10 Significance of the Study

The study will inform the stakeholders: Policy makers to suggest solutions to some of identified

barriers of relevant employment opportunities, Agribusiness Investors to identify areas which

can promote self reliance through employment opportunities to the refugee communities,

Academia will form basis for other researchers to identify areas for further studies , Government

technocrats and financial institutions will add Knowledge to the to support in relevant policy

formulation.

of Kyangwali Refugee settlement about the skills needed by Refugees to compete for the

available jobs, ,

1.11 Scope of the study

1.11.1 Content Scope

The study will focus on Effects of skills on Employment of refugees in Uganda: Kyangwali

refugee settlement. It will be limited to (vocational skills), Human resource skills

entrepreneurship skills and Employment.

Employment of Refugees shall be limited to Self-employment, salary and wage employment.

1.11.2 Geographical Scope

The study will be carried out in Kyangwali refugee settlement which lies in Kyangwali sub

county, Kikuube district in the Albertine region, Midwestern Uganda under Hoima refugee Desk.

16
Kyangwali refugee settlement is 110km from Hoima Oil City, West of Hoima city, south of Lake

Albert, North of R. Nkuse and East of part of L. Albert the side of Kikuube district – Uganda.

Across the lake Albert is Democratic republic of Congo(DRC).

The settlement is managed by the government office, the Departmenet of Refugees (DOR)

under the Office of Prime Minister, whose mandate is to oversee and coordinate all partners and

stake holders activities in the refugee response operations.

This study chose Kyangwali refugee settlement because of it’s uniqueness in ever growing

refugee population and the challenges of employment experienced therein.

1.11.3 Time Scope

This study will focus on the period between January 2017-December 2022. This is because the

settlement operates a calender year approach as opposed to the government mainstream that

operates a financial year. During this period Kyangwali refugee settlement through humanitarian

partners Windle Trust, Lutheran world Federation (LWF), Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and

Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) received a grant to develop skills of over 10,000 Refugees

for both self and wage employment (OPM Annual Report, 2021).

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 CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

Amin (2005) asserts that literature review involves the systematic identification, location and

analysis of documents containing information related to the research problem. This chapter

provides the review of variables under study, theory that guided the study and the relationships

that exist between different dimensions (Entrepreneurship, human resource and education)

entailing scholarly positions relating to the study objectives.

2.2 Theoretical Review

2.2.1 Becker’s Human Capital Theory

This study will be guided by Human capital theory which was developed by (Becker, 1993)

Becker argues that an individual’s human capital development, training and education are the

most important investments that one can make because the returns to training investment can be

realized in terms of higher income, improved health and acquisition of better career positions.

The human capital developed from work experiences and competence development may

contribute to higher earnings, better chance of promotions and acquiring better position. In

developing economies, education for those formerly excluded has been recognized as a means of

self- improvement although their opportunities to benefit economically from this inclusion are

getting slim (Jeffrey, 2009). This is because formal education has often failed to realize the

young people’s employment expectations and desire for upward social mobility.

The human capital theory asserts that schooling provides marketable skills and abilities related to

job performance and that this makes the more highly schooled applicant is more valuable to

employers thus raising their incomes and their opportunities for securing jobs (Bills, 2003). This

18
critique of the human capital theory highlights the difficulties in measuring and evaluating

human capital and the reluctance of human resource development professionals to take on this

challenge which has held the profession back (Swanson, 2008).

2.3 Vocatioanal Skills and employment of refugees

Vocatioanal Skills are skills that help a person to get, do and perfect a job. Vocational skills are

highly demanded and take less time complete even though they are expensive ‘Klinge, (2015).

Vocational skills also promotes on job learning and can act as a complement to formal training

this creates open opportunities in form of employment (Armstrong, 2014).

According to Keren (2018), employment opportunities for Refugees is accelerated by

Vocational skills training, value addition, and offering mentoring skills.

The Human Capital theory asserts that the perception of an individual can be determined by the

conditions of the labor market that offer different opportunities to the individual and

employee’s resource of options, particularly the individuals’ efforts to invest in Skills and

training (Becker, 1993). Human capital theory states that an individual’s human capital

development, training and education are the most important investments that one can make

because the returns to training investment can be realized in terms of higher income, improved

health and acquisition of better career positions (Becker, 1993).

Self-reliance, access to gain full employment, family support, self-innovativeness Parental and

career guidance at home and at all levels of learning, are effects of skills that have a lot to do

with vocational skills training. (ILO, 2012, Uganda Refugee Manifesto, 2010). The Africa

19
Refugee Report (2011) revealed that there is a high lack of parental guidance due to negligence

which has been caused by factors such as significant number of children in the family whereby

parents have not been able to offer the best vocational training required by children for future

and sustainable development.

Also training institutes have not wholly assumed the position to offer career guidance to students

in preparation for their future responsibilities (Delvin, 2013). Adegoke (2015) assumes that upon

the gaps created by lack of skills, Refugees do not get opportunities to develop and thus practice

their abilities to expedite the talents in a more productive way. Often, refugee parents tend to

make decisions for their children by dictating the courses and careers they should take. Such

trends have been found to be in contradiction with the children’s interests and opportunities.

Children who did vocational skills training are more likely to apply their attained skills to fend

for themselves as opposed to students with higher academic qualifications in their country of

asylum. Vocational Skills have been a great avenue leading to employment of refugees in

Kyangwali, in Uganda and the world at large: Action Aid, (2012). Without sufficient vocational

skills, and human capital, Refugees have been incapacitated to get engaged in less productive

work causing poverty and committing crimes as well as other related negative acts (Tregenna,

2015).

This study notes that apart from low interest in vocational skills studies, unequated academic

qualifications from their country of origin, career guidance, Parents attitude and interest tend to

force their children to take certain unnecessary courses without assessing their interest, capacity,

and jobs availability which has negatively affected the Refugee when it comes to employment

opportunities. (OPM – UNHCR JAM 2021).

20
ILO (2012) indicates that vocational training institutes do provide relevant market-oriented skills

training for Refugees and also continue providing the traditional and general skills for their own

survival. In addition, Prof. Ssekamwa (2017) argued that institutions should teach practical skills

to students to enable them create their own employment in order to reduce unemployment threats

among refugees in Kyangwali - Uganda.

There is a lack of human resource skills (team work and leadership) between the job seekers and

hiring employers in a lot of African countries according to the African Economic Outlook

(2012). This is especially apparent for Refugees with little human resource skills as they seem to

know less about where to look for jobs and therefore need more help. In addition, lack of social

networks among the Refugee leads them into situations of unemployment, or underemployment

in low-quality informal jobs with limited earning potential (OECD, 2017; Datta et al., 2018). The

scenerio is, most Refugee have limited opportunity to the network platforms.

Innovation is the hub in today’s business world, any individual or company that fails to innovate

will soon fizzle out (Storen, 2014). Entrepreneurs perceive innovation (IIN) as back up to

venture creation, and as such it is fundamental to becoming self-employed and having business

success (Baron & Tang, 2011). Evidences exist from the literature of the relationship between

innovation and entrepreneurship education (Dobni, 2014; Ferrari et al., 2009; Galindo &

Méndez, 2014; Jiang & Sun, 2015; Zhou & Xu, 2012). In addition, innovation is pertinent for

new venture creation (Baron and Tang, 2011) as such it is crucial for hopeful entrepreneurs to

thrive. The question is, how this innovative spirit can be enhanced to embrace the effects of

skills on refugee employment.

21
Entrepreneurship education is expected to create individuals with innovative capability who will

graduate from the educational systems with a vision on of business plan creation. Global

competitive Report (2014-2015) by the world –Economic Forum, Uganda is one of the 37 factor

driven economies, which compete based their factor endowments primarily unskilled labor and

nature resources. In support of the above UBSO (2014), the final census report showed the

Government of Uganda’s attachment to the great importance to the improved education devices.

It is because education plays a big role in promoting sustainable development through

sharpening the population’s various skills. Much as innovation skills are very instrumental in

creating more employment opportunities among the Refugee, it has faced a lot of criticism from

local farmers as it is seen as costly and difficult to use for example use of APPs in record keep at

some farms and computer skills to store farm information.

2.4 Entrepreneurship skills and Refugee employment

Self-employment is a major determinant and contributor to economic development. It is

perceived as a change agent in job creation as well as increasing nation’s wealth through

economic development (Aboho et al., 2016; Okeke et al., 2016). Several theories have been

employed to verify the view that entrepreneurship education influences self-employment. This

includes;- human capital theory, which supports the view that education can be a major

preference in making a choice with the mindset that entrepreneurial skill which has been

acquired will yield optimally (Martin et al., 2013; Dickson et al., 2008). Knowledge spill over

theory also supports the view that knowledge has the capacity to influence self-employment

(Audretsch et al., 2005). However, the researcher notes that productivity towards self-

employment depends on individual’s perspective.

22
Entrepreneurship skills play a big role in reducing unemployment among refugees. This has been

established by both theoretical and empirical studies (Agri et al., 2017). Human capital theory

supports the view that skills can stimulate entrepreneurial mindset and equally enhance venture

creation skills previously acquired via entrepreneurship education (Dickson et al., 2008). This

could be true according to the researcher because education is the source of knowledge and skills

are a result.

Agriculture sector skills has a big potential to create employment but needs to polish its image to

attract more Refugees. This could be done through provision of skills training and

entrepreneurship support. Job skills training attained by the Refugee would help them to compete

favorably in the labour market while entrepreneurship support can create self-employment. More

so, skills mismatch has also been found to unreasonably affect the Refugees coupled with limited

access to information and education (ILO 2012) while skill-intensive sectors are growing

slowest in Uganda than in similar countries (MFPED, 2014). This study concurred that

agriculture skills play a big role to job creation and it can create both self and wage employment.

Refugee entrepreneurship is the practical application of enterprising qualities, such as initiative,

innovation, creativity and risk-taking into the work environment (either in self-employment or

wage and salary employment), using the appropriate skills necessary for success in that

environment and culture (Chigunta, 2002). Refugee entrepreneurs can be divided into two

broadgroups: those who become entrepreneurs by necessity because they are unable to find other

forms of formal employment or continue their education, and what can be called “vocational

entrepreneurs” who see a business opportunity”. (Llisteri et al., 2006).

23
Entrepreneurial behavior is seen, rather, as a purely psychological phenomenon. This explains

why, for example, only a quarter of businesses worldwide are headed by women. They have to

cope with discrimination, prejudices and certain skill deficiencies, but at the same time

demonstrate successful such as open communication and participative decision-making” (Ulijn

Brown, 2014). Cromie (2000) found a significant difference between reasons given by men and

women to establish an enterprise, relating to career dissatisfaction and child rearing: a mother

can more easily work at home for her own enterprise where she seems to care less about making

money than men (Ulijn& Brown, 2014). In other words, entrepreneurship is a process of

exploiting opportunities that exist in the environment or that are created through innovation in an

attempt to create value. It often includes the creation and management of new business ventures

by an individual or a team (Ulijn & Brown, 2014).

Entrepreneurship can be measured in two ways: actual entrepreneurship and latent

entrepreneurship (Pihie, 2009). It is important to have the conditions required for latent

entrepreneurship and that the intention to create a new business becomes behaviour. The stages

Refugee go through while generating Refugee entrepreneurship are (Chigunta, 2002): pre-

entrepreneurs (the formative stage and the transition from the security of the home or education

to the work place; age group 15-19 years) budding entrepreneurs (the growth stage; age group

20-25 years. This could be true because Refugee at Kyangwali are likely to have gained some

experience, skills and generated capital to enable them run their own enterprises and often face

three enterprise pathways.

Reynolds (2005) highlights the low rate of involvement of Refugee in entrepreneurship. Barriers

to Refugee entrepreneurship are: lack of access to institutional capital, lack of access to lucrative

markets, poor marketing and branding, inadequate planning, lack of access to suitable working

24
space, lack of business management skills and abilities, inadequate, inaccurate and non-existent

financial records, lack of new product development and lack of on-going business support

(Chigunta, 2002). The conclusions were not sufficient to justify why Refugee less involved

gaining

Entrepreneurship skills because the decision to become self-employed hinges on many factors as

mentioned above however, in agribusiness sector parental guidance, access to free land and

provision of startups influenced the Refugee to be self employed.

According to Feeding Africa (2015) limited access to credit is among the hindrances for Refugee

employment in Uganda at all levels. In addition, lack of capital is an important explanation for

Refugee unemployment (ILO, 2012; Uganda Refugee Network [UYONET] (2010). According to

the UN Capital Development Fund (2012), the Refugee is mainly facing three barriers when

trying to access and utilize financial services in developing countries. These are; restrictions in

the legal and regulatory environment, inappropriate and inaccessible financial products offered

by financial service providers (FSPs) and poor financial capabilities of the Refugee. This is not

true according to developing countries like Uganda because access to financial services from the

financial institutions could be as a result of security someone’s owns like land, vehicle and house

which refugees do not own.

According to Hillage, J. and E. Pollard. (2018), financial services and credit remains a challenge

for Ugandans, especially the Refugee in rural areas and the informal sector, yet provision of

cheap credit to the Refugees would leverage entrepreneurship and employment.

25
According to State of the Refugee Report (OPM-UNHCR 2019) the main issue affecting

Refugee unemployment is access to cheap financing. The researcher concurs with this argument

whereby cheap financial services attract Refugee access to credit for starting up small business.

Bloom and Van Reenen (2010) and Bruhn et al. (2010) argue that emphasis should be put on

teamwork and leadership skills which are key factors in successful employment. Holzmann et al.,

(2013) assert that lack of teamwork and leadership substantially limits the ability to operate a

successful business, particularly over a longer term. Along with low levels of other skills for

example vocational, Networking and innovation and limited access to financial products, lack of

financial skills often exposes refugees to mismanagement of cash flows, over indebtedness,

scams and fraud. It is not clear whether Refugees skilled at Kyangwali can fully access credit

from financial institutions within Uganda that could allow them to start their own business

related to agribusiness.

This study of effects of skills on employment of Refugees will widely look at evident impacts

that have been realized and can be related to the real situation.

2.5 Human Resource Skills and Refugee Employment.

According to an Action Plan for African Agricultural Transformation (2015), agribusiness can be

profitable for Refugee with the right skills. Rural enterprise is being advanced along agricultural

commodity value chains within the context of professionalized agriculture. In addition, Alliance

for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) Report (2015) shows that Refugees in Africa are well

educated but many of them lack business skills like team work and Communication that lead to

open opportunities on employment, yet rural transformation requires that new and profitable

ventures be initiated. The conclusion may not be sufficient to justify the above because human

26
resource skills may or may not translate to self or wage employment in KYANGWALI refugee

settlement..

ILO (2017) analyzed trends in rural Refugee employment in Sub-Sahara Africa and found that

Refugee working in agriculture mainly operate in small and unincorporated family businesses as

self-employees or as contributing family workers without pay. In other words, the Refugee are in

vulnerable employment. This could be true and this motivated the need for this study that was

undertaken to verify whether skilling boosted their skills

However, the government of Uganda has tried to partner with International and Local Non-

Governmental organizations (SNV, 2015 and AVSI, 2016) and African Development Bank,

World Bank to invest a lot in skilling the Refugee to reduce unemployment (New Vision

Tuesday, December 12th 2017). According to News Letter of January 2020, Refugee are

subjected to vocational training in various occupations alongside their basic Education, he

argued that this approach is in response to demands of the world of work for marketable skills

where schools are required to produce learners who are completive and are able to do things with

their hands.

Zhou and Xu (2012) assert that to enhance self-employment, a potential entrepreneur must be

well-balanced in every skill including human resource skills. In addition, Zhou and Xu (2012)

suggested that interpersonal communication should be part of the curriculum. Mohr and

Spekman (1994) assert that communication skills can contribute to entrepreneurial success

especially in partnership venture. He said entrepreneurs must develop communication skills to

enhance good decision making which is an integral component in the running of a viable venture

and this hinges on the capability to manage information. The researcher doesn’t concur with the

27
above in that the effective channels of communication are stipulated much as communication is a

key in any venture and can be employment itself.

Active interaction in today’s business world necessitates improved knowledge of communication

skills. Effective communication reduces ambiguity; it facilitates positive relationships leading to

company growth. According to Zhou and Xu (2012), a successful manager must understand how

to manage communication. And, expertise in communication could have a tremendous influence

on development of emerging entrepreneurs hence creating employment. The researcher will

observe that communication skills are paramount in all areas because the success of any business

depends on accurate information especially in partnership, and employers prefer a manager who

must understand how to manage communication.

Another effect of skills on Refugee employment is a lot of job seekers are unable to

communicate because of language barrier to their potential employers (ILO, 2012). A possible

explanation for this is the multi nationalities who use different languages where both the

employer and the job seeker may need paid interpreters. A lot of African countries Uganda

inclusive, employers are not able to read and interprete especially diplomas and certificates. The

researcher agrees that the study results should match with the current situation of Refugee

employment in Uganda specifically Kyangwali refugee settlement,the disadvantaged refugees

from a poor background who have weaker access to job networks and social capital.

2.6 Summary of Literature Review

In Uganda, the government of Uganda has the capacity to provide employable skills. The report

from Ministry of Finance indicates that over UGX 2 Trillion was borrowed to build and equip

vocational and technical institutes under the Business Technical and Vocational Education and

28
Training (BTVET) sub-sector for skilling Uganda program (New Vision Wednesday, March

28th 2018). Husain et al, (2010) argued that Human Resource skills, entrepreneurship skills, and

education are pertinent on the eyes of employers. According to Rezvanfar (2014), Self

employment, Salary and wage employment are pertinent in today’s based economy. He further

said that in order to survive in the current world full of modernization and innovation, a person

must be equipped with marketable skills. Though It is such a heavy investment in skilling the

Refugees embracing Skills can greatly create an impact on Refugee employment. Several

challenges relating to employment of refugees are characterized by lack of entrepreneurship,

human resource and relevant vocational skills in Uganda which could certainly affect Refugee

employment. It is because of this that access to credit facilities, communication, team work,

networking skills, vocational skills maybe related to employment of Refugees. It is highly

anticipated that this study will fill the missing gaps in order to harmonize challenges in relation

to the effects of skills on employment of refugees in Kyangwali refugee settlement. In addition,

this study would contribute towards the already existing broad body of knowledge regarding the

variables under study and also attempt to make clarifications on existing controversies.

29
 CHAPTER THREE

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter describes the research methodology that will be used in this study. Research

methodology is of great essence as it gives a clear description of the procedures to be followed in

conducting a study. This chapter therefore will include the research design, study site, study

population, sampling procedure, data sources and data collection methods and analysis

procedure.

3.2 Research design

This study will employ a cross-sectional survey design. This design will be used because it
enables the researcher to collect data from an individual at one point in time and it is not costly.
(Amin,2005; Malunda,P,& Atwebembeire. ,J. 2021)Both quantitative and qualitative approaches
will be employed.

Quantitative method will be used since it is a formal, objective process to identify and test the

relationships and examine the effects of the variables under study. Qualitative approaches will

enable the researcher to focus on the description of the characteristics, activities, groups and

situations. (Prisca &Wegner, 2017). In a cross-sectional study, the in researcher measures the

outcome and the exposures in the study participants at the same time (Setia, 2016) Using a

combination of qualitative and quantitative data can improve an evaluation by ensuring that the

limitations of one type of data are balanced by the strengths of another. This will ensure that

understanding is improved by integrating different ways of knowing how the skills can influence

employment of refugees in Kyangwali refugee settlement.

3.3 Study Population

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According to Chawla & Sondhi (2018), a population is referred to as the total of items about

which information is required. This section includes a collection of study units for which

samples of interest will be possibly determined (Bougie & Sekaran, 2020). The Unit of inquiry

will comprise of 868 total population and 39 respondents comprised of Refugees youths, NGO

livelihoods Project managers, OPM, UNHCR and Livelihoods lead partner as the study target

population.

3.4 Sample Size determination

The sample size for qualitative design will be computed basing on the total population of

refugees, number of NGOs, OPM staff and key project staffs at Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.

The Krejcie and Morgan (1970)) shall be used to determine the sample size.

According to Krejcie and Morgan (1970) for a total population of 868 people, a sample size of

39 people is appropriate for the study. This means a sample size of 39 will produce better results

for the study. Therefore, a sample size of 39 participants will be involved in the study that is to

say; 30 refugees youths, 06 livelihoods NGOs and 03 key Informants (OPM Commandant,

UNHCR head of Field Unit and lead partner project manager) involved in the Refugee response

operation.

31
Table 1: Sample size distribution and sampling technique

Type of respondent Population Sample Sampling

size technique

Refugees (Youth) 812 30 Simple random

sampling

NGOs Livelihoods project managers 46 06 Purposive sampling

UNHCR, OPM Commandant and Lead 10 03 Purposive sampling

partner livelihoods

Total 868 39

3.5 Sampling technique and procedures

This research will employ simple random sampling to have refugees to participate in the study.

NGOs and key staffs involved in project management will be purposively selected to participate

in the study. Purposive sampling technique will be used because it enables a researcher to choose

participants of his own interest based on the knowledge, position and experience they have with

the particular phenomenon on consideration. These techniques are preferred by the researcher

because the consider a one to one interaction between the researcher and respondents. This gives

a researcher much opportunity to collect more relevant and reliable data.

3.5 Sampling technique and procedures

This study will involve the use of interviews and questionnaire survey methods

3.6.1 Questionnaire survey

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The questionnaire survey method will be utilized since it helps in collection of information from

a large number of respondents in the shortest time possible. This method is also preferred

because it is fast and cost effective. The questionnaire will be structured based on the specific

study objectives.

3.6.2 Interviews

The face-to-face interviews will also be utilized in this study among key informants. Face-to-face

interviews provide opportunities for clarifying the questions asked and allow the researcher to

give explanations to the respondents if necessary. Interview schedule questionnaires with both

open and closed ended questions will be used to collect data from the households while

Interview guide will be used for the key informants. The information to be gathered from the key

informants is meant to enrich the data collected from the households sampled. According to

Kothari (2004), interviews describe the life events and experiences of the respondents with

respect to analysis of the significance of the portrayed phenomena. As Groves et al. (2009)

argue, interviews are basically the correct technique to use when exploring sensitive topics, to

create conducive environment for respondent to take part. This method constitutes the

fundamental part of the data collection for this study where three types of interviews will be

used. These consist of; face-to-face interviews (Ragin, 2007). Semi structured interviews

followed the why and how questions. Interviews will be used because they have the advantage of

ensuring probing for more information, clarification and capturing facial expression of the

interviewees (Somekh & Lewin, 2005). In addition, they also give an opportunity to the

researcher to revisit some of the issues that have been an over-sight in other instruments and yet

they are considered vital for the study.

3.7 Data collection Instruments

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 3.7.1 Self Administered Questionnaire

Questionnaires will also be used to collect data from Refugee Youths and NGOs Livelihoods

project managers. The questions will be administered by the investigator research assistants;

these will be addressing the effects of skills on employment of refugees. They will be arranged in

a way that all the objectives of the study are addressed (Malunda N., &Atwebembeire.,2021).

The questionnaire will be arranged in sections according to the objectives of the study. The

questions in the questionnaire will be direct and will help the research assistants to collect

information from respondents’ in the shortest time possible (Chawla& Sondi, 2018;

3.7.2 Interview guide

The researcher will use an interview guide for Key Informants (OPM, UNHCR, livelihoods Lead

Partner) in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. The interview guide will be arranged according to the

specific objectives of the study. The questions will be designed to generate an in-depth

information from the key informants who are knowledgeable about effects of skills on

employment of refugees in Kyangwali refugee settlement.

3.8 Validity and reliability

Reliability and validity used to evaluate the quality of researches. They indicate how well a

method, technique or test measures something. Reliability is about the consistency of a measure,

and validity is about the accuracy of a measure.

3.8.1 Validity and reliability of quantitative research

Validity refers to the truthfulness of findings or the extent to which the instrument is relevant in

measuring what it is supposed to measure (Earl-Babbie, 2013). The validity of the instrument

quantitatively will be established using the Content Validity Index (CVI). This involves the

34
expert scoring of the relevance of the questions in the instrument in relation to the study

variables. The instruments that yield a CVI above 0.7 will be within the accepted ranges.

The instruments that yield a CVI above 0.7 was within the accepted ranges.

Reliability will be measured using the Cronbach’s Alpha Reliability Coefficient test. Upon

performing the test, if the values are 0.7 and above, the items in the instrument will be regarded

reliable(Santos, 1999). The data collection instruments will be constructed in simple language,

and clear instructions appropriate for the respondents will be given and these will be pretested

among 20 refugees in other refugee camp.

3.8.2 Validity and Reliability of qualitative research

Quality control measure will be taken to ensure that findings of the study meet the acceptable

standard and measures which will include assessing validity and reliability of the data collection

instrument. The data collection instrument will also be reviewed by a panel of experts of

supervisors from Uganda Management Institute that will validate the instruments.

Qualitatively, the reliability of the instruments will be established through a pilot survey of the

questionnaire to ensure consistency and dependability and its ability to tap data that would

answer the objectives of the study. Each research assistant will administer one In-depth interview

and one Key informant interview who will not be included in the study but with similar

characteristics. The results will be subjected to a reliability analysis (Creswell, 2003).

3.9 Procedure of data collection

35
After the introduction letter from UMI, the researcher will secure an introduction letter

introducing the researcher to Kyangwali Refugee settlement for refugees. The researcher will

then seek for permission from Office of Prime Minister Department of refugees to carry out the

study in Kyangwali refugee settlement. The management of Kyangwali Refugee settlement will

introduce the researcher to the various refugees involved in trainings in the camp. The researcher

will then be introduced to the study participants and the purpose of the study shall be explained

to the study participant. The researcher will seek for consent from the study participants before

the actual data collection takes place. The researcher will then proceed to collect data and

interview respondents as the responses are filled into the questionnaire. The researcher will then

proceed to organize and analyze the collected data under the guidance and supervision of the

supervisor. Finally, a research report will be written and after the supervisor’s approval, it will be

submitted to the department.

3.10 Data Analysis

Data from the field will be entered in Microsoft excel sheets for cleaning and sorting before its

imported to SPSS ver.20.0 for statistical analysis. Objective one, two and three will be subjected

to inferential statistics to determine the association between independents and dependent

variables. For qualitative analysis, thematic analysis will be used to analyze the findings derived

from interviews with respondents. Content analysis and Thematic analysis will involve

familiarization of the researcher with the data contents, coding, generation of initial themes,

review of themes, defining and naming themes and then writing up by presenting key

responses/quotations under each corresponding theme. Finally, the selected narratives and/or

data extracts will then be contextualized in relation to existing literature. Thematic analysis is a

widely used method of analysis in qualitative research. In 2006 Braun and Clarke published an

36
article that described to notice researchers how to use thematic analysis in a step-by-step manner.

Braun and Clarke (2006) state that thematic analysis is a foundational method of analysis that

needed to be defined and described to solidify its place in qualitative research.

3.11 Ethical clearance

For this study to be successful, the researcher shall get an introductory letter from Uganda

Management Institute that will introduce the researcher to the field.

Permission to conduct the study shall be sought from Office of The Prime Minister (OPM)

Department of Refugees (DOR), because it is the office manned with the settlement management

and security. OPM, UNHCR and relevant partners will be notified about the study being

conducted among the refugees.

The purpose of this study shall also be explained to the study participants and the right to

withdraw from the study shall be given to the study participants since the study is voluntary in

nature.

Informed Consent shall be sought from all study participants and the respective management of

the refugee settlement (Kyangwali) to be involved in this study.

Information obtained from the field shall be kept confidential and private only accessed by the

researcher and the research assistants who will help in data collection and report writing. This

confidentiality and anonymity will be ensured throughout the entire study process and research

report making. The information will be kept in lockable drawers and information fed on the

computer will be password protected to prevent access by unauthorized people. Respondents will

also be advised not to reveal their names during the study as they will also be assured that no

information will be given out without their consent.

37
The research report findings will be disseminated for further comments and guidance from key

participants and Department of refugees at OPM Kampala office.

The final report will be submitted to UMI for further academic processes and future references.

38
 CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSIONS

4.0 Introduction

In this chapter, data is presented, analyzed and discussed. The data presentation, analysis and

discussions are done in line with the study objectives that include: to investigate the effects of

entrepreneurship skills on employment of refugees, to find out the effects of human resource

skills on employment of refugees and to find out the effects of Vocational skills on employment

of refugees in Kyangwali Refugee settlement.

4.1General Findings

4.1 Response rate

Response rate shows percentage of respondents that were able to give their responses out of
those that were sampled in this study. The rate of response is presented in Table 4.1.

Table 4.1: Response Rate

Table 4.1: Response Rate

Frequency Percent Valid Cumulative
Percent Percent
Received back 29 74.4 74.4 74.4
Valid Not received back 10 25.6 25.6 25.6
Total 39 100.0 100.0 100.0
Source: Primary data 2023

Results presented in Table 4.1 shows that the study target population was 39 and of these, results
show that 29 fully participated in this study giving a response rate of 74.4%. This response rate
was very high basing on the recommended minimum of 50% by Mugenda and Mugenda (2003).
This very high response rate was realized as the researcher moved to all departments of
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement personally monitoring the progress of the respondents on filling
of the questionnaires.

39
Besides, the respondents were well informed of the rationale of the study being academic and
hence timely responded. Lastly, most of the respondents knew how to read and write and this
made it easy for the researcher to register a very high response rate of 74.4%.

4.2 Demographic characteristics of respondents

This section presents the different demographic characteristics of the respondents of the study.
The rationale for presenting this information is to help readers to understand different categories
of the respondents that participated in this study. The demographic characteristics of the
respondents include Gender, age, and level of Education and number of years spent on skills
trainings for refugee youth at Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. The demographic characteristics
help readers to identify whether the sample selected is representative of the population from
which it was drawn.

4.3 Respondents by Gender

In this study, gender was categorized as male or female. This was intended to ensure equal
representation of both males and females.

Figure 4.1 Respondents disaggregation by Sex

Gender OF RESPONDENTS

Male
36% Female

64%

Source: Primary data 2023

Figure 4.1 presents findings on gender characteristics of the respondents of the study. The
results show that 10 males and 19 females participated in this study at Kyangwali Refugee
Settlement. These results hence reveal that the majority 64% were female compared to 36%
males. This is also explained by female dominancy in terms of numbers of employees at

40
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement that participate in sorting, production and other manufacturing
processes.

4.4 Respondents by age

In this study, respondents were categorized into two age-groups namely 16-25 years and 26 -35
years. This was intended to enable the researcher get views from respondents of different age
groups about their opinion in relation to the topic because people of different age groups tend to
have different views on social, economic and different perception. Results are presented in

Figure 4. 2: Respondents by age categories

Age of Respondents
15-25 years
13% 26-35 years
31% 36-45 years
19% 46-55 years

38%

Source: Primary data 2023

From the results presented in Figure 4.2, the respondents who constituted the majority 12(38%)
were aged 36-45 years, 10(31%) were aged 26-35 years, 6(19%) were aged 26-35 years and
4(12%) were aged 15-25 years. There were no respondents aged above 55 years because all
respondents were below that age bracket for this study. Similarly, there were no respondents
below age of 15 years because by that age the respondents are still in school and young to be
considered for employment since that age is for minors and would be considered less on
employment due to child labour laws. Therefore, all respondents were aged between 15 -55
years.

4.5 Respondents by level of education

In this study, education levels were categorized as Certificate, Diploma, Degree, none. It is
important to know about the level of education because one’s level of education has a significant
relationship with level of conceptualization of issues. This means that with higher levels of

41
education, respondents were able to provide more rational responses to the set questions and
articulate valid reasoning. The findings are presented in figure as below.

Figure 4. 3: Respondents by age categories

Level of Education
14

8
5
2
Certificate Diploma Bachalors None

Source: Primary data 2023

The study findings in Figure 4.3 are about the education level/qualifications of the respondents.
The findings were as follows: 5(17%) had certificate, 8(28%) had Diploma, 14(48%) had
bachelors, and 2(7%) didn’t have any education qualification. These findings revealed that the
majority of the respondents had attained Bachelors level which implies that most of the
employees refugees in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement followed by those that had attained
diploma and certificate. Few respondents had no any education qualification and this means that
people that are not educated are really hired for employment a reason they are just 2(7%). This
implies that most of the respondents were averagely educated and hence could have knowledge
on the subject matter that was being studied.

4.6 Categorization of Respondents by number of skill trainings organised for refugee youth
since in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.
In this study, a deep examination on skills trainings carried out in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement
was carried out to understand how often it is carried out for youth skilling in order to prepare
them for employment. Kyangwali Refugee Settlement employees more or skilled personnel a
reason the research sought to understand how often the skilling activities are carried out in this
area.

42
 Table 4.2: Categorization by umber of skill trainings organised for
refugee youth
Details Frequency Percentage
1-5 1 3.4%
5-10 1 3.4%
10-14 10 34.4%
above 14 17 58.6%
Total 29 100.0
Source: Primary Data 2023

Results in table 4.5 above indicate that majority of the respondents 17(17%) agree that trainings
are regularly done indicating that thy have been carried out more than 14 times which shows that
a lot of skilling programs are usually carried out to prepare youth in Kyangwali Refugee
Settlement for employment through equipping them with the necessary employment skills. this
was followed by 10(34.4%) that indicated that trainings are carried out between 10-14 times and
1(3.4%) respectively.

All respondents agreed that for all the skills trainings organized, they carried out a needs
assessment and had evidence of the report and some of the issues heighted in the needs
assessment report included but not limited to Type of skills/ trades, startup kits, family support,
long distances to study centers and employment opportunities.

4.7 Employment types engaged in by refugee youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.

Statement SA A N D SD
Salary Employment 42.4% 48.5% 4.5% 3.0% 1.5%
Wage Employment 50.0% 45.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
Self-Employment 48.5% 47.0% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%

43
The researcher wanted to know the different employment types engaged in by refuge youth in
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and the study revealed that 42.4% of the respondents strongly
agreed that majority of the youth are Salary employed, 48.5% of the respondents agreed that
youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are salary employed. a very few portion of the
respondents disagreed with the statement, however considering results for the major findings
from respondents, the study concluded that majority of the youth are self-employed.
For wage employment, the study findings revealed that most of the youth are on wage
employment with 95.5% of the respondents agreeing to the statement, 1.5% not so sure and 3%
disagreeing with the statement. From these findings therefor, the study concludes that majority of
the youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are in wage employment.
The study also agreed that majority of the youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are self-
employed with majority of the respondents 95.5% conforming with statement, 1.5% no being so
sure on their opinion and 3% disagreeing with the statement. These study results reveal that
majority of the youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are employed and therefore should be
equipped with more work skills for job sustainability.
4.8 People involved in empowerment of skills for employment needs assessment

Statement SA A N D SD
Refugee Youth representatives 48.5% 47.0% 1.5% 1.5% 1.5%
Refugee leadership 33.3% 39.4% 7.6% 10.6% 9.1%
Livelihood Partners 36.4% 36.4% 3.0% 13.6% 10.6%
Host community House holds 34.8% 31.8% 3.0% 13.6% 15.1%

The study also sought to understand the category of people that are engaged in empowerment of
skills for employment needs assessment amongst youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and
from the finding, results reveal that majority of the respondents agreed with a high response rate
that refugee youth representatives, refugee leadership, livelihood partners and host community
households are largely engaged in youth empowerment of skills for employment and few of the
respondents disagreeing with the kind of people involved in the empowerment program. This
indicates that a larger percentage of Kyangwali Refugee Settlement community in largely
engaged in youth skills empowerment program as indicated by the results in the table above.

44
4.9 Areas addressed by the training objectives.

Statement SA A N D SD
Cookery 42.4% 48.5% 4.5% 3.0% 1.5%
Teamwork 36.4% 36.4% 3.0% 13.6% 10.6%
Computer literacy 16.7% 16.7% 6.1% 30.3% 30.3%
Business plan and development 21.2% 19.7% 4.5% 25.8% 28.8%
Networking and innovation 33.3% 43.9% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6%

The study carried out also sought to understand the areas addressed by the training objectives
and some of these include cookery, teamwork, computer literacy, business plan and development
and also networking and innovation. From the study findings, results reveal that majority of the
respondents that is, 90.7% of the respondents agreed that youth trainings involve equipping
youth with cookery skills, 4.5% of the respondents were not sure of their response and 4.5%
disagreed saying that trainings do not involve equipping youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement
with skills of cookery.
Teamwork skills were also seen to be one of the major skills equipped in youth trainings in
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement with 72.8% of the respondents agreeing to the statement that the
youth empowerment trainings equip youth with teamwork skills. However, from the study
findings also, results show that, 3.0% of the respondents were not so sure of their opinions and
21.2% of these respondents did not agree that teamwork skills are not offered in youth
empowerment training programs at Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.
From the study findings, results also revealed that 33.2%of the respondents agreed that youth
empowerment trainings equip youth with computer literacy skills, 6.1% of the respondents were
not sure of their opinion and 60.2% disagreed with the statement saying that trainings do not
offer computer literacy skills. from these findings, the study concluded that computer literacy
skills might be being offered in a very few communities in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and
the others are just left out or are engaged in some other forms of trainings as indicated in the
table.
Business plan and development skills were also seen to be one of the major skills equipped in
youth trainings in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement with 40.9% of the respondents agreeing to the
statement that the youth empowerment trainings equip youth with business plan and
development skills. However, from the study findings also, results show that, 4.5% of the
respondents were not so sure of their opinions and 54.6% of the respondents did not agree that
saying that business plan and development skills are not offered in youth training empowerment
programs in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.
The study had also sought to understand whether networking and innovation empowerment skills
are offered in youth trainings and results revealed that 77.2% of the respondents agreed to

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statement indicating that innovation and networking skills are offered in youth empowerment
trainings in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement. 7.6% of these respondents were not sure and 16.2%
disagreed with the statement saying that networking on youth empowerment programs are not
offered in youth empowerment trainings in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.
4.10 Extent to which the skills training objectives were achieved
Statement SD D N A SA
Fully achieved 15.2% 12.1% 9.1% 30.3% 33.3%
To a great extent achieved 15.2% 16.7% 9.1% 28.8% 30.3%
Not sure 30.3% 39.4% 7.6% 13.6% 9.1%
Somehow achieved 31.8% 37.9% 7.6% 12.1% 10.6%
Not achieved 33.3% 33.3% 6.1% 12.1% 15.2%

4.11 Skills that were given priority for consideration in the trainings
Statement SA A N D SD
Cookery 30.43% 69.57% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Teamwork and leadership 21.74% 17.39% 0.00% 47.83% 13.04%
Vocational Skills 39.13% 60.87% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Entrepreneurship skills 56.52% 30.43% 3.04% 0.00% 0.00%
Human Resource skills 17.39% 26.09% 0.00% 52.17% 4.35%

The researcher was interested in understanding if innovations are essential in improving the
overall customer experience in supply chain operations thereby increasing the level of supply
chain performance in the company. The researcher’s findings revealed that 17(73.91%) study
respondents agreed with the statement, 1(4.35%) respondents were not sure, 5(21.74%)
respondents disagreed with the statement. Based on the fact that majority of the study
respondents agreed with the statement, it meant that

The researcher wanted to know if innovations assist Day To Day (U) Company to produce
quality products and thus increase the competitive edge in the marketplace thereby increasing
supply chain performance. The study findings revealed that 23(100.00%) respondents agreed
with the statement, there were no respondents that participated were neither not sure nor

46
disagreed with the statement. The study findings given that majority of the respondents agreed
with the statement, it meant that

The researcher was interested in understanding if innovations increase the supply chain
sustainability as continuous production is attained thereby increasing the supply chain
performance. The study respondents revealed that 23(100.00%) respondents that that took part in
the study agreed with the statement, there were no respondents that participated in the study were
not sure or that disagreed with the statement. Based on the fact that majority of the respondents
agreed with the statement, it meant that

The researcher wanted to know if innovations assist in improving operational efficiency of the
supermarket as better production practices are attained and thus increasing the level of supply
chain performance. Study findings revealed that all the 23(100.00%) study respondents that took
part in the study agreed with the statement, there were no respondents that participated in this
study were not sure, or that disagreed with the statement. The study findings based on the fact
that majority of the respondents that participated in the study agreed with the statement, it meant
that

Lastly, the researcher wanted to know if innovations assists to enhance of product quality and
health safety thereby increasing the level of supply chain performance in the company. The
researcher found out that all the 23(100.00%) study respondents that participated in this study
agreed with the statement, there were no respondents that were not sure or that disagreed with
the statement. The study findings based on the fact that majority of the respondents agreed with
the statement, it implied that in Day To Day (U) Company Limited, there were increased levels
of innovations that were assisting the company to ensure that higher product quality and health
safety was attained, the products that were served to the clients and those that were purchased
were meant to be of good quality in the organisation. The study findings therefore implied that
increased

4.13 Forms of employment for the trained youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement.

Statement SA A N D SD

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 Wage Employment 26.09% 73.91% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Salary Employment 39.13% 34.78% 0.00% 8.70% 17.39%
Self-Employment 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
The researcher in his study identified the different forms of employment for trained refugee
youth and from his, results show that trained refuge youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement
largely settle salary employment where by 99.0% of the respondents agreed that trained youth in
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are salary employed and a very few portion of the respondents
disagreed with the statement. However, considering results for the major findings from
respondents, the study concluded that majority of the youth are salary employed.
For wage employment, the study findings revealed that most of the trained youth are on wage
employment with 73.7% of the respondents agreeing to the statement and 26.3% disagreeing
with the statement. From these findings therefor, the study results show that majority of the
trained youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are in wage employment.
The study also realised that majority of the trained youth in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement are
much into self-employment with all respondents 100.0% conforming with statement. This is
greatly as a result of failure to get jobs in the formal sector and majority of the trained youth
ending up being innovative and putting up startups for their survive and end up self-employed.

4.14 Other interventions can be put in place to enhance employment of refugees within
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement

Statement SA A N D SD
Youth empowerment sessions 60.87% 13.04% 1.35% 8.70% 13.04%
Agriculture and livelihoods 78.26% 21.74% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Equating foreign academic 100.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
documents
Skills export on resettlement. 91.30% 8.70% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%

The research study carried out also sought to identify other interventions that can be put in place
to enhance youth employment for refugees within Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and from the

48
research findings, results show that through carrying out youth employment sessions like skilling
and training workshops would offer youth employment because with the acquired skills, youth
can be able to innovate something and tap into self-employment sector. 73.8% of the respondents
agreed to this notion with a few respondents of about 21.7% disagreeing. 1.3% of the respondent
were not sure and gave a neutral response.
The researcher wanted to know whether youth engagement in agriculture and livelihoods would
facilitate on their employment in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement and study findings revealed that
that 29(100.00%) of the respondents agreed with the statement and all believed that if all youth
in Kyangwali Refugee Settlement engaged in agriculture and livelihood, they would employed in
that sector complimenting the work of the sectors in terms of employment. Increasing the scale
of agricultural production can directly lead to more job opportunities through expanding both
crop cultivation and livestock farming. Also through supporting agribusinesses such as food
processing, packaging and distribution can add value to agricultural products and create
employment opportunities in various stages of the supply chain hence employing a big portion of
youth in an economy.
The researcher was interested in understanding whether equating youth’s foreign academic
documents would help in providing them employment in this global economy and all
29(100.0%) respondents strongly agreed to the statement revealing that equating foreign
academic documents ensures that young graduates are recognized as having the necessary
qualifications for jobs in their home country and the global market which increases their
employability in both domestic and foreign job market.
In the study, that research also examined to what extent skills export on resettlement of youth
refugees can be quit import in creating them employment and results showed that 91.3% strongly
agreed that skills export facilitated by global mobility enables young people to work abroad if
they wish to do so as many countries and employers require recognise a great deal in culture
diversity and integration. 8.7% of the respondents agreed to the statement and none of the
respondents disagreed. Therefore, to harness the potential of skills export on resettlement,
Kyangwali Refugee Settlement should provide support and resources to facilitate the recognition
of foreign qualifications, language acquisition, skills training, and job placement for refugee
youth. This proactive approach not only benefits the individual refugees but also the host
country's economy and society as a whole by enhancing youth employment.

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