Nakawa Institute, JICA celebrate golden jubilee

Nakawa Vocational and Training Institute and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) have celebrated 50 years of partnership.

The institute was established in 1968 under collaboration between Uganda and the Japanese government through JICA.

The institute's establishment followed a request from former President Milton Obote to the Japanese authorities on his visit to Japan for assistance to develop a skilled human resource in Uganda.

The First Lady and education minister, Janet Museveni, presided over the celebration at the institute in Kampala on Wednesday.

JICA has been supporting the institute through infrastructural development, training its tutors in Uganda and Japan, and provision of equipment over the years.

However, the cooperation between the institute and JICA was discontinued during the periods of political instability in Uganda, but resumed in the 1990s.

The First Lady said that students at the Institute should be proud of the competences they are being empowered with through training premised on Japanese work values of quality management, efficiency and continuous improvement.

The overall objective of Business, Technical Vocational Education and Training (BTVET), the minister said, is to spearhead a paradigm shift in skills development to meet the demands of the market.

"I urge the leadership of TVET at the ministry, and indeed management of Nakawa VTI to take full advantage of the presence of Japanese master trainers who have been availed through JICA to further strengthen our own capacity…and build a critical mass of administrators, instructors…to implement the Skilling Uganda programme," she said.

The Japanese ambassador, Kazuaki Kameda, noted that the institute is a symbol of Uganda-Japan relations because of its long development partnership with JICA. His country, he said, is Uganda's leading partner in BTVET, and that it is proud to be contributing to the economic development of Uganda through skills training.

"Our contribution to economic growth is accompanied by skilled and qualified work force. We shall only step up or collaboration," Kameda stated

BTVET Policy

The BTVET commissioner, Safina Musenne, said the skills development drive will receive additional boost when the TVET policy currently before cabinet is approved.

"The policy will put the private sector at the forefront of skills development because they (private sector actors) are the employers. We are even organizing skills competitions (Thursday and Friday) at UMA to attract more students to BTVET," she added.

The institute principal, Godfrey Muwanga, said that 80% of their graduates get direct employment upon graduation. Over 5,000 have been skilled at the institute since its establishment.