Uganda is a very young country with about 78 percent of the population below the age of 35 and yet they have the highest unemployment rate in the country.
Having helped over 8,000 Ugandan youth secure employment in the Arab world and transform their lives, Mr. Gordon Mugyenyi, the Managing Director of Middle East Consultants Limited (MEC) has practically done more in the past three years to address the bigger question of youth employment than even the biggest multinationals in the Pearl of Africa.
Such gentlemen surely deserve a ‘presidential handshake’ for being the heroes fighting against youth unemployment in Uganda and act as a catalyst for the country’s development.
In their latest recruitment drive, 80 youths left on Tuesday evening to work under TransGuard, a government owned security firm in Dubai, UAE where they will be paid a whooping Shs1.2 million monthly. These were followed by another group of 80 young men on Wednesday also left for MEC’s new area of operation, Riyad City in Saudi Arabia to work as waiters under American hamburger and fast food restaurant chain, McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken, more commonly known by its initials KFC.
McDonald’s asked the Ugandan consultancy and recruitment firm to get them a total of 600 workers that they are sending in groups of 100.
Two more groups of 40 and 60 going to work as security guards in Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively will be dispatched on Saturday. Their month salaries will range from Shs3.4m to Shs2.3m.
Addressing the young men before their departure, MEC MD, Mr Mugyenyi said: “You are the next drivers of our dear country’s progress to the middle income status, go with peace, be humble as your work and improve your families.”
He added, “Discipline is everything when one is working abroad, we as Middle East Consultants have helped you get a new start in life and the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development is always making efforts to protect Ugandans who are employed in Middle East countries so the ball is in your hands to save well and be better citizens when you return. Do not forget where you come from or the people back home that sacrificed so much to help you you get these jobs.”
Mr Mugyenyi also advised the recruited people to take their time and make meaningful savings instead of rushing back to Uganda to splash the dollars.
“My advice to you is to be steadfast and not rush back home with just Shs20 million to buy a few boda bodas. Concentrate on what has taken you which for all of you is to work. The conditions maybe a little different from what you have been used to, but we have briefed you thoroughly and are confident you will handle,”Mr Mugyenyi flanked by MEC recruitment and vetting officer, Kyalimpa said to them, before adding, “If you show good character and impress the employers then you surely will be given new contracts that run up to at least four years.”
“My happiness is when I visit your homes in a few years and find you are the best in your areas, with the best permanent houses and good investments,” he encouraged the youth.
Mugyenyi also called upon all parents to take their children to MEC as soon as they finish university saying that opportunities are lined up waiting for people to take them up.
“The number of our young brothers and sisters graduating from tertiary institutions but find no jobs is high yet MEC has even more recruitment orders from the Gulf world ongoing. The onus is your parents to facilitate and bring those young women and men to us and we help them secure a future for themselves,” Mr Mugyenyi said.
Middle East Consultants Limited (MEC) is a fully registered and licensed recruitment agency based in Kabalagala, Kampala.
They provide complete recruitment solutions, sourcing and supplying quality staff throughout the Arabian Gulf with the overall objective of adding value to employers and having the best impact on the lives of Ugandan youth.
“We recruit with excellence in mind, having access to the best candidates, and take pride in the quality of our service to organisations and individuals,” Mr Mugyenyi assured TheUgandan.
