The Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) has asked for Shs 5.2bn in its budget to deal with a major skills gap in the budding oil and gas sector.
In a presentation to a Skills Gap Conference at Sheraton Kampala hotel recently, the DIT executive director, Ethel Kyobe, said the sector had the potential to employ over 30,000 Ugandans at the start. However, many are likely to miss out on these lucrative positions, for lack of skills and certification.
“The bulk of these positions are in the tertiary areas, where even the youngest and least skilled would be able to qualify,” she said.
Kyobe explained that the DIT was committed to improving the lot of learners, with no prior qualifications.
“Part of our mandate is Technical Vocational Education & Training (TVET), which is very important for production of critical skills in Uganda … TVET is a sound investment for the individual, the employer, and the economy,” she added.
Students with no prior learning at all, but with some experience are recruited and trained, before the DIT examines them, providing qualifications, under what is known as the Uganda Vocational Qualification Framework (UVQF). Michael Okumu of DIT explains that the UVQF is in high demand.
“At some levels such as UVQF level III, students don’t even wait for examinations or graduations – they are already out there working.”
MERGING QUALIFICATIONS
Prior formal training is carried out in community polytechnics, technical schools, vocational training centres and institutes, as well as technical institutes, technical colleges, and specialized training institutions, under what is known as the Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET).
Since its enactment in 2008, the BTVET Act has formed the bedrock for formal tertiary learning. On the other hand, the DIT concentrates on students with no formal training at all.
So, the BTVET strategic plan (Skilling Uganda 2012/3 – 2021/2) is looking to forge a window for DIT qualifications to be recognised in the BTVET system and vice versa.
“This would make it possible for students with no prior qualifications to have a vehicle to proceed to higher levels of learning, and also for those with prior formal learning to change track, if they so wish,” Okumu says.
Kyobe thinks that this will speed up the mode of development for students seeking positions in the oil and gas sector.
“More artisans will be able to advance to higher levels of qualifications and thus qualify for these jobs,” Kyobe says.
“However, what is missing is for these students to obtain the necessary certification to work in the sector.”
She explains that the DIT is also working with the ministry to have the UK-based City and Guilds certification system re-established in Uganda, by the end of the year.
“City and Guilds is an international certification system acceptable in the oil and gas sector … it used to be here in the 1960s but was withdrawn in the 1970s.”
The DIT Council chairperson, Dr Joseph Muvawala, is confident of obtaining the funds to improve the DIT. “We have the means and the capacity to excel; so, we cannot let ourselves down now.”
Skills demand in the oil & gas sector
|
Qualification Level |
Title |
Estimated Jobs |
|
Level 4 |
Engineers and Managers |
1,810 or 6% |
|
Level 3 |
Technicians |
4,836 or 17% |
|
Level 2 |
Crafts |
11,059 or 38% |
|
Level 1 |
Basic Crafts skills |
11,551 or 39% |
mtalemwa@observer.ug