Govt asked to work with existing TVET institutions to promote skilling

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The national executive director of Uganda YMCA, Roselyne Birungi Ssebaleke, has asked the government to work closely with existing private institutions providing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) to promote skills development among Ugandans.

According to Ssebaleke, their role is to complement the government’s efforts under the national TVET policy aimed at equipping citizens with practical and employable skills needed for Uganda’s productivity.

“Let us collaborate fully by equipping citizens with practical, employable and entrepreneurial skills. There is no reason we can’t work together to skill Uganda. When we join hands, we can turn potential into productivity,” she said.

This was during the 22nd graduation ceremony of the YMCA College of Studies at the Jinja branch, where 647 students were awarded certificates and diplomas on Friday.

Ssebaleke acknowledged the supportive environment created by the government for technical and vocational institutions, as well as the establishment of the Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UBTEB) for guidance and regulation of training.

Lambert Okure Drata, the principal of the Jinja branch, said they passed out graduates examined by the Uganda Business and Technical Examination Board (UBTEB), Kyambogo University, and the YMCA College of Business, Jinja.

Based on the country’s latest Technical and Vocational Act 2025, which introduced new changes in vocational and technical training, Drata said the majority of the graduands were awarded UBTEB transcripts.

Of the 674 graduates, he said 91 (13%) passed with distinctions in external examinations by UBTEB and Kyambogo University, raising the number from between six to seven students who previously attained first-class grades.

Ssebaleke said they were passing out a generation of thinkers and doers urgently needed in today’s market.

Since they were different and better because of the training acquired at the college, she challenged them to go out and be the change agents Ugandans need.

Instead of turning into job seekers, she challenged them to be self-reliant, innovative and capable of generating sustainable livelihoods.

Ssebaleke, who is also the chairperson of the governing council of the YMCA Jinja branch, implored the graduates to uphold the college’s values of honesty, caring, faithfulness, innovation, responsibility, and respect for all, regardless of age, financial or educational level.

Of the 674 graduands, 581 (86%) were females, while 93 (14%) were males. A total of 172 graduated with diplomas in childcare, while 502 received certificates in baking and meat processing, hotel and institutional catering, fashion and garment design, tourism and hospitality management, and hairdressing and nail care.

Others attained qualifications in information and communication technology, social work and social administration, journalism and media studies, accounting and finance, business administration, and procurement and logistics management, among others.

Ssebaleke welcomed those who wished to further their education at the degree level at the main branch, YMCA Comprehensive Institute Wandegeya, in some of the programmes offered at the Jinja branch.

She said the Wandegeya facility is a fully licensed and chartered degree-awarding institution offering a variety of programmes in technical and vocational fields.

“The sky is not the limit, it is only the beginning, education is what we acquire from the cradle to the grave, keep learning, growing and improving since learning never ends,” she urged.

Prof. James Luyonga Nkata, the chancellor of YMCA Comprehensive Institute and the chief guest, said that the more than 500 young women who graduated represented a significant contribution to girl-child education and skilling.

He said the employment terrain had changed, yet Uganda’s population, of which 60% are young people, needed skilling, knowledge and education for survival.

Nkata said the labour market was looking for people who knew what to do and how to do it better, which the YMCA colleges were addressing by preparing young people for the world of work.