Rugunda urges institutions to skills devt

By Francis Emorut

PRIME Minister Dr. Ruhakana Rugunda has advised vocational colleges/schools and higher institutions of learning to address the skill gap the country is faced with and scale up the training.

"Our country is currently faced with a skills gap. Much more effort is therefore required from various education and training institutions in the country to innovatively scale-up the provision of cutting edge education and training at various levels," he stated in his speech read by trade, industry and cooperatives miniter Amelia Kyambadde​.

This was at a graduation ceremony where 743 graduands graduated at Nakawa based Management Training Advisory Centre (MTAC) with diplomas and certificates in various fields on Friday.

"The transformation of Uganda from a peasant to a modern and prosperous society will largely depend on having a highly skilled human resource to fill our current manpower gaps," Rugunda added.

The Prime Minister told guests that Government was committed to tackle skill gap that's why it has channeled a significant amount of resources to education, training and skilling programmes so as to expand the supply of skilled labour.        

He informed guests that Government remains focused on skills development and is implementing the long term Skilling Uganda Strategy 2012-2022 to respond to increasing demands of skilled labour to support value addition for export and the rapidly growing service sector.

According to MTAC acting executive director, Soreti Karanzi Nabeeta, there was improvement in enrolment compared to last year with a 34% increment. This year's graduation saw graduands awarded certificates compared to 488 last year. 55% of the graduands were female while 45% were male.

The centre offers courses in Accounting and Finance, Customs Clearing, Forwarding and Shipping Management, Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Marketing and Sales Management, Human Resource Management, Public Administration and Management among others.  

The 3rd graduation ceremony held under the theme: "50 Years of Creating Entrepreneurs and a skilled workforce through Innovative Learning Methods," coincided with the centre's anniversary.

Nabeeta advised graduands to work hard, be innovative and join hands with other stakeholders in contributing to skilling Uganda.

He appealed to government to increase funding to enable the centre rehabilitates its infrastructure which still has asbestos roofing and develop market outreach as well as build capacity for its staff to enhance their competitiveness.

He informed guests that government allocates the centre only sh58m per annum which is inadequate.

​Graduands whose performance was outstanding were given medals and cash in recognition for their achievements.