By Isaac Akugizibwe

KIU, Main Campus- Assoc. Professor Janice Busingye, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in charge of finance and Administration led a contingent of other top administrators at the first-ever Career Guidance and Mentorship stakeholders breakfast meeting organized by Shine Leadership International in conjunction with African Center for Career Mentorship at Serena Hotel Kampala on Saturday 15th April 2023.

KIU was privileged to have two top administrators, Assoc. Prof. Janice Busingye and Mr. Ambrose Kibuuka, present as Keynote speakers during the breakfast meeting where another KIU staff, Mrs. Anita Malinga was the chief organizer under Shine Leadership International where she is the co-founder.

In her presentation, Assoc. Prof.Janice emphasized the need to let children discover their own abilities and interests instead of forcing them to pursue courses and careers based on popularity and parents' or Guardian’s preferences.

“Each student is unique in their own way, understand what they want and like. Our children are not our Prototypes, they are just our DNA,’’ she said.

She shared a story of how her father played a key role in her career path and success. She said it is that career guidance that saw her work hard to become the successful woman she is today. And she advised other people to follow suit.

"I worked hard for everything I have because of career guidance. It does not start from the school, it starts at home. It starts with you, it starts with me, it starts with us," she said.

Ambrose Kibuuka was asked to address the question, ‘’Why career guidance and mentorship is critical for every student in today’s competitive world. ’He concluded that career guidance once got right, is the best remedy for the overriding youth unemployment problem in Uganda.

‘’If we get career guidance right, we will realize that, first of all, much of the unemployment we have today was unnecessary,’’ he said.

"Career guidance is not something we need to adopt, it is a foundation. If someone has it, even if they don’t succeed in formal education, they will get life right," he added.

Because they have discovered a deficiency of career guidance and mentorship in the Country, experts at both Shine Leadership International, African Center for Career Mentorship, and the Student Hub have expressed the need to create an Association of Career mentors in Uganda to have one common voice

According to Anita Malinga, a Co-founder at Shine Leadership International, the idea of having an umbrella that brings career mentors together would help them in many ways especially when it comes to influencing government policies.

‘’Once we come up with the Uganda Career Mentors Association to bring mentors together, we can be able to influence policy, we can be able to introduce standardized services in schools and also offer career guidance services to both students and parents,’’ she said.

‘’We shall also be able to address the problem of youth unemployment, ’she added.

The other administrators and staff members from KIU that attended Saturday’s breakfast meeting include; Miss Barbara Akello, the Deputy Director of Marketing and Public Relations at KIU, and Dr. Faith Nakalema, the Head of the Department of Psychology, Social Work and social administration.

It was also attended by students from KIU main campus, other Universities, institutions, and schools.