Non-formal training will be recognised - Alupo

When she first decided to change her life, Esther Baroma was just a senior four graduate, struggling to make ends meet in a Kampala beauty salon.

Over time, she has developed into a major education entrepreneur thanks to non-formal learning. MOSES TALEMWA was on hand last week as more students graduated from the Directorate of Industrial Training, which runs the non-formal learning component.

The Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) last week saw off 23,368 graduands of non-formal training, assessed in 34 occupations. According to the DIT executive director, Ethel Kyobe, the graduands mostly had no formal qualifications before they were trained and later assessed for competence in their chosen fields.

This year’s graduands represent an increment on last year’s performance where 15,198 candidates were assessed in 23 occupations.

“Their performance also improved substantially this year as more than 90 per cent of those assessed were adjudged to be competent,” Kyobe said.

The graduands were assessed in five different categories, indicating various levels of competence. Some of the professions in which students were assessed included bakery, bricklaying, hairdressing, catering, carpentry, cookery, computer applications, domestic electrician, electronics, farming, knitting, leather design, motor vehicle mechanics, painting and decoration, plumbing, welding, secretarial, tour guide, and tailoring.

Responding to the results, Education Minister Jessica Alupo said the sector was working around ensuring that the certificates were recognised in the formal education system.

“Arrangements are being made to make the certificates acceptable in the East African Community so Ugandans can transfer their skills across the region,” said Alupo.

She added that they were working to ensure the establishment of a skills development authority to enable regulation of the non-formal education sector. Commenting on the matter, the chairperson of the Industrial Training Council, which heads the DIT, Dr Joseph Muvawala, said they were in advanced stages of preparing the paperwork establishing the authority.

“The minister directed us to start the authority last year, we are late, but I assure you we shall get it ready by the end of the year,” he said.

To this end, the minister directed the DIT to expedite the process of establishing the Skills Development Authority. Muvawala added that he was waiting to sign off on plans to enable ensure harmonization of qualifications across the board.

Alupo added that DIT would be at the heart of developing synergies with other vocational institutions in the oil and gas sector.

“[DIT] will be given immediate priority because 10,000 jobs can be created directly and indirectly during the initial phase of oil extraction in Uganda,” she said.

She concluded her discourse by charging the DIT with creating and publicizing a permanent labour market information system, which can generate information and statistics on employment levels disaggregated by sector, age, group and gender.

RESULTS OF OCCUPATIONAL AND MODULAR ASSESSMENT 2015

mtalemwa@observer.ug