TVET skilling is the way to go

By Nuwagaba Felex

TVET, short for Technical Vocational Education Training among its objectives advocates to provide the economy with qualified and competitive workers so that they can participate in sustainable growth and poverty eradication by fueling technological progress.  It is no longer working hard in silence and its success is making noise.

During the release of exam results for the 2023 November –December series, the Board Executive Secretary, Mr Onesmus Oyesigyire revealed that students’ performance has improved to 93 per cent in 2023 compared to 78 per cent in 2022.

This is a key indicator that Ugandans are taking seriously the government’s skilling call which is the way of masking future generations’ unemployment and under-employments which will help Uganda to achieve her vision through appreciating technical education.

Having acquired a skill, has enabled individuals to have self-employment through a permanent capital “skill” which is acquired through technical education from different TVET institutions both private and government-aided. In different trades depending on one’s choice and capacity include bricklaying, carpentry and joinery, tailoring, leather turning, plumbing, fashion and design, agriculture, electric installation, motor vehicle mechanics, welding and fabrication, and hotel and institutional catering to mention but few.

Though most of us used to undermine technical education and thought it to be for poor performers and people from humble family backgrounds currently skills acquisition is the shortcut for now and for the future.

Since acquiring a skill is a process

As a Practical assessor, I have managed to observe and interact with students of Mbarara Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Mbarara city. MISD is a private institution that trains students with skills which are helping them to be productive and provide solutions to some of the challenges at the institute like constructing the staff quarter’s house and taking care of school gardens and farms; bricklaying and agriculture respectively among the courses with the guidance and support of the instructors and administrations headed by Mr Tuwangye John.

“This has not only solved institutes need but it gives confidence to trainees since they start the process up to the final product. As a result, most of the students are retained at their industrial training places and others have started to employ themselves due to skills and competencies acquired,” the director says 

So this will minimise the risks of unemployment, underemployment and exploitation of Ugandans after appreciation of the permanent “SKILL”.

Lastly, I would like to implore everyone to at least have one skill whether formally or informally since it’s the way to go for economic development and masking the future’s generation unemployment gap.

Both old and young it’s not too late to acquire a skill.

The writer is; NUWAGABA FELEX, a DRAFTSMAN AND UBTEB PRACTICAL EXAMINER
Email: felexnuwagaba@gmail.com