Turning Hurdles into Opportunities
Prior to being a part of the Youth to Work (Y2W) program, I was serving as an Executive Assistant with TUWA International Ltd for a period of two years. However, because of my ambition to further my studies, I resigned to take up a Master’s program in Business Administration (MBA) which was hindered by the corona virus pandemic and the subsequent lockdown and so resolved to get a job and / or skilling opportunity to bridge the gap that had been created.
The job seeking experience did not go as smoothly as I had expected. However, I never tired of searching for opportunities when at last I fell on a call for applications for the Y2W Program from Challenges Uganda under the Standard Chartered Foundation. It was love at first site, looking at the happy faces of young people on their website plus their accomplishments, I felt a magnetic pull to be a part of their team and so I applied and here I am, a Junior Associate at Challenges Uganda!
The Y2W Program empowers and skills youth and small and medium enterprises to unearth their potential and open a world of opportunities and possibilities for them. Amazingly, within a scope of three months on the program, I have been able to build a network of friends and professionals through engagements and trainings and garner skills in monitoring and evaluation, events planning, public speaking and use of online training platforms.
My goal is to change careers from the Hospitality industry. Being a part of Challenges Uganda has made that possible for me through the practical knowledge and experience in the area of Monitoring and Evaluation I’ve gotten by working with a small enterprise to discover the gaps affecting its growth and offering and implementing practical solutions to bridge those gaps. Also the Chartered Management Institute certification I’ll receive at the end of the program will give me a competitive edge to take on leadership roles in companies locally and internationally thus fostering my personal growth.
I am humbled to be a part of the Y2W program and I encourage young people to search for skilling opportunities such as this one to add value to their lives and increase their career potentials.
