Uganda’s push to turn vocational trainees into job‑ready professionals received a major boost on Monday when the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) signed a quality‑assurance agreement with the Presidential Industrial Hubs programme.
Under the deal, UVTAB will audit and certify all curricula taught in the 19 government‑built hubs so they fit the new National Skills Qualifications Framework. “We shall validate every Assessment Training Package to guarantee that graduates hold credentials the market recognises,” UVTAB executive secretary Onesmus Oyesigye told reporters after the signing.
Hub director Eng. Raymond Kamugisha said region‑specific modules are already being drafted. “Bugisu needs coffee‑processing technicians; West Nile needs solar installers. Our syllabi will match those realities,” he noted, adding that the partnership “turns presidential hubs into centres of accredited excellence rather than isolated workshops.”
Building on Museveni’s vision
President Yoweri Museveni launched the industrial‑hub network in 2020 to give school leavers a free, six‑month crash course in trades ranging from carpentry to garment design. According to State House figures, more than 16,000 youths have completed hub training, while another 60,000 passed through the earlier Kajjansi skills scheme.
Commissioning the Busoga hub in January, the President called the centres “battle‑fields for wealth creation” and accused some mainstream schools of betraying his 1986 promise of Bonna Basome (education for all) by allowing high dropout rates. Formal UVTAB accreditation, officials say, will now let hub alumni compete for contracts or pursue higher qualifications without bureaucratic hurdles.
Development economists hailed the move as a step towards the country’s goal of exporting skilled labour under the East African Community protocol. “Kenya and Tanzania already recognise UVTAB certificates. Standardising hub output tightens Uganda’s hand in regional trade,” Makerere University labour analyst Dr Sarah Nassuna said.
The hubs operate in all 18 Presidential Zonal Industrial Parks plus Kampala. Each admits at least 220 trainees twice a year, selected by district committees.
