The employment world in Uganda today has greatly changed that for any potential candidate to fill up vacant positions in the labor market, a minimum of at least 2-3 years of experience besides their much-fitting academic qualifications is a MUST. However, how can the challenge of inadequate experience be addressed?
Averagely, a university student spends about 3 -4 years on a degree program, of which only 8 months are work-based (during the internship), yet the other years are spent on classroom-based learning, which contributes a minimal figure of what is needed in the real job market.
In a bid to address this dilemma, Victoria University Kampala (VU), one of Uganda’s top leading private universities has come up with an initiative dubbed “The VU Success Formula”, aka “The VU Employability Formula,” is a system that has emerged for more than 20 years of research, adopted and helped most European countries as a tool to curb unemployment.
In an exclusive interview with the Daily Express, Dr. Lawrence Muganga the VU Vice-Chancellor, an acclaimed author, and educationist explains that this newly adopted employability formula combines a service delivery model designed to optimize the content provided to students that match their interest and area of specialty in the course they’re offering.
“The VU Employability Formula consists of the variables; the Student’s Interest, Teaching, and a Work Integrated Learning (WIL) approach, the latter being the foundation of a student’s exposure to attain a real-world work experience over the years spent at the campus,” he explains.
This is assimilated in a mathematical expression below;
E= F{I+T+(WIL)n} Where, E = Employability, F is the function, I = Interest, T = Teaching and WIL is the Work Integrated Learning.
With the WIL approach, a student is able to graduate with the required experience through placement in different companies that suit their interest to have hands-on job training alongside the content attained through lectures. A student through the WIL approach also has higher chances to be retained at the end of the academic journey, hence reducing on the unemployment levels in the country.
“We have developed this formula to address the performance gap, the gap between what students are expected to do and what students are able to do,” Dr. Muganga explained.
This according to him is a professional development program focused on changing instructional practices and help reduce the outraging levels of unemployment in the country.
“Unlike other institutions, these interventions are needed at VU to enable graduates to secure jobs immediately in the highly competitive labour market as they are designed to benefit all students, making it easier for lecturers to embrace their,” he added.
Why Join Victoria University
Victoria University is one of Uganda’s most popular universities, receiving more undergraduate applicants every year. With its Employability / Employment-Oriented Education, VU is centrally focused on ensuring that its graduates are equipped with the knowledge and skills required for a successful career in their chosen field. The University has a dedicated Career Service team that is always at hand to assist students to embark on their chosen careers after graduation.
The University offers a wide range of courses with qualifications designed to meet the needs of the marketplace. VU links with corporate companies and constantly reviews their portfolio to ensure that it meets both the student’s requirements and employer’s needs. With its Virtual learning dubbed V-Class, a student is able to learn from anywhere, anytime without any hassle.
You can learn more about the university by visiting their website on www.vu.ac.ug or their socials via Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
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