The government, through the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB), has resolved to fix the assessment and accreditation cycle for Technical and Vocational Training Education (TVET) candidates in both formal and informal institutions.
Mr Onesmus Oyesigye, the Executive Secretary of UVTAB, says the current assessment and accreditation process has been inconveniencing the board since each institution or individual trainers have been presenting their candidates to the board for assessment at any given time.
“Assessment has been continuous. As soon as they finish, they come here for assessment. Every day, there are trainees walking in here for assessment, and they are not few. We have discussed at the board level to ensure that assessment is regulated. The board has guided that we develop an assessment cycle that can be followed by all trainers. Even visitors who come to your home need to be regulated. It is only in the restaurant where people just walk in at any given time,” Mr Oyesigye said during a media engagement held at UVTAB offices in Kampala on October 16.
He also disclosed that UVTAB staff have been deployed in the field to conduct similar assessments on a monthly basis. Mr. Oyesigye said the board is now in the process of consulting training institutions as stakeholders agree on the assessment period.
“The training normally takes three months. We shall discuss with those who are involved in that type of training, but most probably, we are going to assess students four times a year. We don’t want it to be abrupt. We shall be assessing trainees in March, June, September, and December so that the trainings are also synchronised,” he said.
UVTAB is responsible for the assessment and certification of competences obtained through formal and informal technical and vocational training institutions. Mr. Oyesigye also noted that once the TVET Council has accredited all the trainers as required by the TVET Act, 2025, all informal training institutions will start presenting their candidates to UVTAB for assessment and accreditation through formal accredited providers.
On the issue of staffing, Mr Oyesigye said the Ministry of Public Service had already approved the board’s structure and that more staff will be recruited to offer quality and timely services. He clarified that the recent merger of Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board (UBTEB) and the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) to form UVTAB did not greatly affect the staffing level of the board since staff from the merged institutions were retained by the new TVET program assessment body (UVTAB).
Meanwhile, UVTAB will today, October 17, release the first set of Uganda Vocational and Technical assessment results since the merger.
The Board conducted the assessments from May 2 to June 27, 2025. According to Mr. Oyesigye, a total of 30,169 candidates registered for the May-June 2025 end-of-program assessment from 499 assessment centers. Of these, 306 (61%) are informal, while 193 (39%) are formal providers. Of these, 17,423 were female, and 13,196 candidates were male.
The assessment covered broad categories of Technical Education and Training (TVET) programs, including Technology Education and Training, Business Education and Training, Home Science Education and Training, and Sports Education and Training, and Informally Acquired Skills.
The occasion is expected to be presided over by the First Lady and Minister of Education, Janet Museveni, at the UVTAB National Skills Assessment Centre, at Kyambogo Hill, in Kampala.