Janet Billy Mulindwa
The Government has made education accessible to many children through universal primary and secondary education programmes.
As a result, there are more students now graduating from educational institutions than ever before. Universities and other higher institutions release hundreds of graduates into the labour market each year.
Unfortunately, many of the graduates remain unemployed as the shift in global economics today means the Government is no longer the largest employer.
Employers in Uganda often complain about skills shortages that constrain production and expansion. Large segments of the population, including those working in the informal sector, lack the necessary skills to raise themselves out of poverty.
To address this, the Government has formulated policies to strengthen the private sector and ensured that the unemployed youth are facilitated to acquire skills to provide labour to the private sector. This has been emphasised through the skills development programme.
Skills enable individuals to increase productivity, raise incomes and eventually facilitate the economy to grow. In addition, a skilled workforce enables enterprises to increase their productivity and profits.
The Government has continued to implement the Technical Vocational Educational and Training (TVET) strategic plan which builds on the progress of the reforms in the TVET system and the establishment of the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework (UVQF).
The TVET plan is aimed at boosting the development of employable skills and competencies relevant to the labour market. The number of students accessing Non-Formal Education (NFE) continues to increase, now standing at 16,156. Of these, 6,661 are males while 9,495 are females.
Additionally, a total of 310 and 9,329 students recently received training in Competency-Based Education and Training (CBET) and Industrial Training respectively. All 292 BTVET institutions are now implementing CBET, and in the 2016/2017 financial year, shb2.052b was allocated for skills development.
The Government also continues to increase the participation of women and disadvantaged persons such as persons with disabilities in skills development programmes.
To this end, 9,808 beneficiaries have been trained and assessed under the formal/modular programme at 303 Directorate of Industrial Training accredited assessment centres.
However, despite National Resistance Movement Government’s efforts to skill the Ugandan labour force, the economy still faces substantial skills gaps in key sectors. Over the years, progress has been made mainly in formal areas of skills development training.
Young people need to embrace the training which is relevant to the job market. Many university courses offered now are no longer relevant to the changing global economy.
But vocational training is becoming increasingly relevant because it produces the skilled workers needed by industries.
The writer is an educationist and Bugweri Resident District Commissioner
