MP Dr. Opio Acuti launches free vocational training for youth in Kole North

The Member of Parliament for Kole North, Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti, has launched the second phase of his free skilling program.

The initiative, a five-year strategic plan running from 2026 to 2031, aims to equip over 2,000 youths with vocational skills.

Beneficiaries will receive training in various sectors, including tailoring, mechanics, carpentry, building and construction, hairdressing, and electrical and motorcycle repairs.

Officially launching the program on Monday, March 9, 2026, at the Alito Training Skilling Center in Alito Town Council, Dr. Acuti emphasised that the training would be provided at no cost under his Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti Foundation.

The first cohort of over 200 youths attended the launch and commended the MP for transforming the lives of jobless youth whose education was interrupted.

During the event, Dr. Acuti also pledged to support graduates by organizing them into associations and helping them form a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) to finance their businesses.

“We want to see our graduates become not only job creators but wealth creators, transforming their communities,” he stated.

Over the past four years, Dr. Opio has established seven vocational training centers across the constituency, significantly boosting youth skills development in the Lango Sub-region.

The MP noted that between 2021 and 2026, the project benefited over 803 youth from Alito, Aboke, Okwerodot, and two town councils. The new 2026-2031 strategy now expands the target to more than 2,000 young people.

This initiative is part of his broader development projects valued at shs15.3 billion delivered during Dr. Opio’s first term in the 11th Parliament. He presented this report card to constituents in Aboke, Alito, and Okwerodot Sub-counties, where he was honored as the area’s best-performing legislator.

Originally elected as an independent MP in May 2021, Dr. Opio was on January 15 elected as the NRM MP for Kole North in the 12th Parliament.

He currently serves as the Vice Chairperson of the Parliamentary Health Committee, Uganda’s Representative to the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly, Chairperson of the Lango Cultural Institution Health Committee, and Secretary General of the Lango Parliamentary Group.

In a significant achievement under the program, all 448 students who sat for the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) examinations on December 6, 2023, successfully graduated and received their certificates.

The MP’s broader education sector investments include shs266 million for skills training, shs100 million for program support, shs120 million for the construction of twin staff houses at Alito Primary School, and shs21 million for 462 iron sheets for Apedi and Alito Primary Schools, secured from the Office of the Prime Minister.

Amule Delis, 20, Alito sub-county whose education ended in Primary Six, shared her success story: “After two years of tailoring training, I now earn shs300,000 monthly, which helps me pay school fees for my child. Dr. Opio is a true leader who values his people. I have now opened my own workshop and am also training others, who pay me shs300,000.”

Omara Sam, 22, from Alito town council, also expressed gratitude. “I joined in 2023 when the vocational center opened and completed one year of training in motorcycle repairs. I have now opened my own shop, earning over shs150,000 daily.

“I only reached Primary Five, but now I have valuable mechanical skills and can support my parents and my own family. Dr. Opio was sent by God to serve our people.”

Thomas Actui, the head of the vocational training skills program at the Dr. Samuel Opio Acuti Foundation Skilling Center, reported that between 2023 and 2024, over 490 learners graduated across different sectors.

He added that this term, over 187 students have already reported for training in the building and construction (BCP), department, and tailoring sections.