MJAMR

The Impact Of Skills Development Constructs On Multi- Dimensional Youth Participation: Evidence From Kisoro District, Uganda

Bwiza Blessed


Abstract

Youth disengagement from productive economic and civic life remains a critical challenge in rural Uganda. This study investigated the disaggregated impact of three skills development constructs vocational training relevance, entrepreneurship education, and mentorship access on corresponding dimensions of youth participation: economic engagement, community development involvement, and local decision-making participation. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, collecting data from a stratified random sample of 345 youth group members in Kisoro District. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and simple linear regression in SPSS. Results revealed significant positive relationships for all hypothesized paths: vocational training predicted economic engagement (β = .755, p < .001, R² = .570), entrepreneurship education predicted community development involvement (β = .728, p < .001, R² = .530), and mentorship access predicted decision-making participation (β = .742, p < .001, R² = .551). The study concludes that skills development programmes must be deliberately designed with specific constructs to target distinct participation outcomes. Recommendations are offered for policymakers to adopt an integrated, construct-specific approach to youth empowerment for sustainable socio-economic transformation.

Keywords

Skills development youth participation vocational training entrepreneurship education mentorship human capital Uganda
Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research

Cite This Article

Bwiza Blessed (2026). The Impact Of Skills Development Constructs On Multi- Dimensional Youth Participation: Evidence From Kisoro District, Uganda. Metropolitan Journal of Academic Multidisciplinary Research, 5(2). https://journals.miu.ac.ug/pages/article.php?article_id=195