Acholi Leaders Seek Expansion of Presidential Industrial Hub to Accommodate More Youth

What the report says

Leaders in Uganda’s Acholi sub-region are pressing President Yoweri Museveni to expand the Acholi Zonal Industrial Hub in Gulu so it can take in more unemployed young people seeking vocational training. The request came during a regional stakeholders’ meeting at the hub, where officials said demand for places has grown beyond the facility’s current capacity. Pader District Woman MP Lowila CD Oketayot said she had previously supported building another hub, but now backs expansion of the existing one because of the large investment needed for a new facility.

The government used the meeting to announce four additional courses — plumbing, electrical installation, automobile mechanics, and knitting and weaving — aimed at increasing enrolment. These will add to existing programmes in carpentry and joinery, tailoring and design, bakery and confectionery, building and construction, welding, and shoemaking. Officials said the wider Industrial Hubs initiative is designed to provide practical skills, change mindsets and support youth employment.

Other speakers stressed the need for transparency in selecting trainees and for local governments to provide land and office space for related facilities, including common user centres and SACCOs. According to the government representatives at the meeting, districts have also been allocated startup support for graduates. The discussion reflects the broader role of presidential industrial hubs in northern Uganda as a tool for skills training and income generation, especially for vulnerable young people.