DAR ES SALAAM: THE world’s job market remains a difficult puzzle for many young people, especially those coming fresh from school, hindering their access to opportunities.
Despite being armed with the right academic credentials, many young people are still unable to make a breakthrough in seeking employment, as academic papers alone are not enough to overcome the dynamic job market. Other important skills, not commonly taught in classrooms, are required.
Here is when Ignite Youth Future (IYF), a Tanzanian youth-led organisation based in Dar es Salaam, jumps in to rescue the situation through empowering young people with the skills, guidance, and opportunities they need to build meaningful and sustainable careers.
The organisation was founded in response to the widening gap between education and the realities of Tanzania’s job market, where most young people leave school without a clear sense of available career pathways or the skills needed to access them.
Recently, IYF founder and Chief Executive Officer Ms Gloria Bulondo opened up on how their mission is implemented on the ground, saying: “Our belief is simple, young people do not lack ambition but rather, they lack access to guidance, exposure, and opportunity… our work exists to close that gap.”
She continued: “We provide practical career readiness training such as CV writing, interview preparation, communication skills, career planning, and a mentorship program that connect young people with working professionals, digital learning tools, school workshops, and online sessions.
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“Our flagship offering, the Career Readiness Project, combines interactive workshops, mentorship, and digital learning modules. Through structured mentorship sessions, students get the chance to ask questions, learn from real-world experience, and build the kind of confidence that classroom learning alone cannot provide,” she said.
According to her, their target audience is young people, primarily secondary school students and university students transitioning into the job market, with a deliberate focus on underserved youth, including those in rural, marginalised, and low-income communities, and girls in particular, since they face additional barriers to education and employment.
Elaborating on what compelled her to establish the organisation, she said the idea was born after observing that many young people were failing to find success despite having it all.
“Bright, capable young people finishing school, full of hope, and then hitting a wall not because they lacked talent, but because nobody had ever sat them down and shown them what their options actually were. They did not know how to write a CV, how to walk into an interview with confidence, or even how to think about which direction to take.
“The numbers back this up: each year close to 850,000 young people enter Tanzania’s job market, and only about 4.7% of them find work (Helvetas, YES Project). But for me, it was never really about the statistics it was about seeing that gap up close, the disconnect between what school prepares you for and what the real world actually demands, and feeling like someone needed to step in and close it. That is what pushed me to start IYF,” she said.
Breaking down some of the achievements they have recorded so far, Ms Bulondo noted that 2025 was a strong year of growth.
“Our flagship Career Readiness Project trained more than 600 youths, with 75 percent of them reporting increased confidence in job interviews and 40 percent securing internships or employment within six months of training.
“In 2025 alone, we engaged more than 3,200 young people across career workshops, mentorship sessions, and digital learning initiatives, working with four public schools under our Career Readiness Project, and supported over 1,000 students through community outreach and mentorship.
“We also launched our career platform, which now has more than 500 users, and expanded our digital presence by 20 percent year-on-year, including high-performing webinars on career readiness,” she said.
On her part, IYF Co-founder Dr Vilgilia Komba disclosed that most of their work is currently being implemented in Dar es Salaam, with plans in the pipeline to stretch their wings to cover other regions.
“Dar es Salaam has given us the space to learn, to test what works, and to build something solid before we widen our coverage, bearing in mind that the challenges of unemployment do affect youths all over the nation,” she said.
On why their services matter in today’s world, she said the job market is evolving faster than the traditional education system can keep pace with, so academic knowledge alone is no longer enough.
“Career guidance isn’t a luxury but rather a missing link between education and economic opportunity, and at scale, it is a tool for tackling youth unemployment and inequality nationally,” she said.
Commenting on where they envision IYF in the next five to ten years, she said they want every young person in the country to have access to meaningful and dignified employment.
“This year (2026), we are focused on deepening impact and building toward scale: launching an AI-powered tool for accessible career guidance, interview preparation, and personalised learning support diversifying our funding base, and expanding our national and regional presence.
“Looking further, we see IYF moving from pilot initiatives to scalable, sustainable solutions, reaching far more young people across Tanzania through a hybrid and in-person, and playing an active role in global and regional youth-development conversations.
“The dreams of youths are not just hopes for tomorrow they are the foundation of a stronger, brighter nation. We are deeply grateful to the schools, partners, mentors, and especially the young people who are the heart of everything we do,” Dr Komba concluded.