Advisory mission to Uganda, Kenya and Rwanda

DECP country manager for East Africa, Arnout De Koster, visited three countries. In essence to check the progress of the implementation of the work plan between DECP and the respective employers organisations in these countries.

The work plans are essentially directed at strengthening the services of the employers organizations for their members and the uplifting of their advocacy role to create better business environments.

In services, several countries work on launching or improving Executive Diploma trainings for HR and IR executives in order to ensure better compliance with national labour laws, and to improve productivity and human resources policies at company level.

In the field of advocacy, DECP supports the organisations in the field of skills policies. How can employers play a more active role to solve issues of mismatch on the labour market, both for new entrants and for active workers? These issues hence tackle a broad spectrum of possible interventions: better forecasting of skills needs, better collaboration between the educational world and the business (apprenticeships, internships, adapted curricula) and also focuses on improved lifelong learning. DECP also supports positioning via advocacy and social dialogue of employers in the field of labour law: both Kenya and Uganda are trying to improve the legal framework; in Kenya the issue of strikes, and the searching of a legal framework for more stability in industrial relations, especially in the public sector, is topical. In Uganda, the Federation of Uganda Employers seeks to modify some aspects of the labour law and is also in discussion on minima wages.

In Rwanda finally, the mission sought to renew the collaboration between the private sector foundation and DECP, by identifying some specific needs: support for services, increase of members for the federation via better database management.

The ideas which have been gathered during this mission will be valuable input for further demand oriented collaboration between DECP and its east African counterparts.