First Lady and Minister for Education and Sports, Janet Museveni, has emphasised the need for stronger partnerships between government, industry players, and professional bodies to ensure Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) system produces a skilled workforce that meets local and international labour market standards.
Ms Museveni stressed that closer collaboration with industry is critical for aligning curricula and assessment with global standards, supporting the country’s industrialisation agenda.
“The industry’s input will ensure that curricula and training packages are not only relevant but also meet the highest global standards. This alignment is essential for producing employable artisans, technicians, technologists, and other professionals that can contribute to our industrialisation agenda,” Ms Museveni said during the commissioning of the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) Assessment Centre at Kyambogo hill in Kampala on Friday.
The centre, worth Shs25.6 billion, houses UVTAB headquarters and TVET council offices, previously scattered across multiple locations. Museveni said the co-location is expected to improve efficiency and quality assurance in skills training.
“May these UVTAB headquarters reflect the mandate that the TVET Policy 2019 and the TVET Act, 2025 granted UVTAB as an institution of the State. Previously, the Curriculum and Assessment responsibilities of the TVET Sector were scattered… Now that the TVET Policy and TVET Act brought these two related functions together, our hope as government is that we shall see greater efficiency in TVET Curricular and Assessment work,” she said.
Ms Museveni reiterated the government’s commitment to expanding TVET infrastructural facilities, making skills training accessible and affordable for young people, noting that over 82,000 youth have graduated from 19 presidential skilling hubs.
UVTAB Executive Secretary Onesmus Oyesigye said the centre marks a major milestone in implementing the TVET Act 2025 and positioning Uganda to develop an industry-ready workforce.
“This is a unique government project, completed on time, within cost, and meeting quality and standards. This is also a testimony that the fundamental change as envisaged in 1986 by NRM has taken place,” Oyesigye said.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Kedress Turyagyenda, said integrity, credibility, and relevance remain central to the ministry’s goal of using skills development to drive productivity, job creation, and innovation.