Youth welding out a future
Jan 01, 2008
FLORENCE Nanyondo, 17, has made vocational training a reality. She has been attending a one-year welding and fabrication course at the Uganda Youth Development Link Institute (UYDEL) at Masoli in Gayaza.
By John Kasozi and Jean-Marie Nsambu
FLORENCE Nanyondo, 17, has made vocational training a reality. She has been attending a one-year welding and fabrication course at the Uganda Youth Development Link Institute (UYDEL) at Masoli in Gayaza.
Today, she is undergoing a six-month industrial training at Tonnet Enterprises, one of the leading manufacturers of agro-food processing machines, agro implements, spare parts and general fabrication at Kyebando on Gayaza Road.
Nanyondo says she craved joining the welding and fabrication sub-sector while working with Pearl Mark technicians. “The owners earned a lot of money by putting together metal doors and windows. It fuelled my desire to join UYDEL,†she recalls.
But her inspiration flamed from a soap opera, Hand-in-Hand, produced by German and Ugandan experts in vocational training. “I had also watched Hand-In-Hand, which was serialised on television, where the star, Veronica, was struggling to make a niche in the male-dominated welding and fabrication industry,†she explains.
The soap, starring young Ugandan artists, features the characters of Veronica, Natalia and Ateenyi, who are searching for success through their skills. The trio encounter challenges that threaten their progress.
Hand-in-Hand is a brainchild of the German Development Bank (KfW), the German technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the education ministry, in partnership with Great Lakes Film Productions, an award-winning production house.
Nanyondo says since she went for industrial training in November, she feels she is in the right place. “I am now looking to further training, so that I can specialise,†she says.
Richard Malunda, an orphan taken on by Tonnet Enterprises in 2002 as a welder, says he has no kind words for those who scorn welding and fabrication.
“I have since acquired vast experience in the industry and can ably fabricate a number of machines like the manual water pump, power grater, manure chipper and screw press. The works have earned me money, with which I started building a house that is near completion,†he says.
Tonnet manager Joseph Kavuma says Nanyondo has a bright future. “Women should forget the thinking that the welding and fabricating sub-sector is for males. A woman can prosper as well. We have a plan to take on more young women,†Kavuma explains.
But these are a few of the people gaining from the artisan skills and expertise, which used to be regarded as only fit for formal education failures.
Many employers today lack suitably skilled candidates, while unemployment continues to grow because vocational training is often shunned. To address the challenge, however, the education ministry has, since 1998, been implementing reforms under what is now called the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), the Promotion of Employment-oriented Vocational and Technical Training Programme (PEVOT).
PEVOT is a programme of six German agencies that work with the ministry, to scale up vocational technical training in the country. The programme supports both public and private initiatives in developing a skills-based education and training system.
Now in its third phase, PEVOT has been working within the education sector framework. Its multi-pronged approach is purposely to reform vocational training in Uganda.
The German organisations work on a number of levels, including planning, funding and assisting implementation of projects. “At the same time, we design and test new concepts and models of training aimed at ensuring relevance and employability of graduates,†explains Frauke Ossig, the PEVOT programme expert.
“PEVOT has been involved in policy reform towards a more competence-based education and training (CBET) concept. In this regard, we supported the ministry in establishing the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework (UVQF), which aims at consolidating what is taught in institutions and what actually happens in the real field.â€
The development of UVQF is guided by the basic principles of CBET, which is aimed at linking vocational training to the world of work, leading to more relevant and credible vocational training qualifications in Uganda.
With UVQF in place, Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) are expected to become more relevant for employment.
FLORENCE Nanyondo, 17, has made vocational training a reality. She has been attending a one-year welding and fabrication course at the Uganda Youth Development Link Institute (UYDEL) at Masoli in Gayaza.
Today, she is undergoing a six-month industrial training at Tonnet Enterprises, one of the leading manufacturers of agro-food processing machines, agro implements, spare parts and general fabrication at Kyebando on Gayaza Road.
Nanyondo says she craved joining the welding and fabrication sub-sector while working with Pearl Mark technicians. “The owners earned a lot of money by putting together metal doors and windows. It fuelled my desire to join UYDEL,†she recalls.
But her inspiration flamed from a soap opera, Hand-in-Hand, produced by German and Ugandan experts in vocational training. “I had also watched Hand-In-Hand, which was serialised on television, where the star, Veronica, was struggling to make a niche in the male-dominated welding and fabrication industry,†she explains.
The soap, starring young Ugandan artists, features the characters of Veronica, Natalia and Ateenyi, who are searching for success through their skills. The trio encounter challenges that threaten their progress.
Hand-in-Hand is a brainchild of the German Development Bank (KfW), the German technical Cooperation (GTZ) and the education ministry, in partnership with Great Lakes Film Productions, an award-winning production house.
Nanyondo says since she went for industrial training in November, she feels she is in the right place. “I am now looking to further training, so that I can specialise,†she says.
Richard Malunda, an orphan taken on by Tonnet Enterprises in 2002 as a welder, says he has no kind words for those who scorn welding and fabrication.
“I have since acquired vast experience in the industry and can ably fabricate a number of machines like the manual water pump, power grater, manure chipper and screw press. The works have earned me money, with which I started building a house that is near completion,†he says.
Tonnet manager Joseph Kavuma says Nanyondo has a bright future. “Women should forget the thinking that the welding and fabricating sub-sector is for males. A woman can prosper as well. We have a plan to take on more young women,†Kavuma explains.
But these are a few of the people gaining from the artisan skills and expertise, which used to be regarded as only fit for formal education failures.
Many employers today lack suitably skilled candidates, while unemployment continues to grow because vocational training is often shunned. To address the challenge, however, the education ministry has, since 1998, been implementing reforms under what is now called the Education Sector Strategic Plan (ESSP), the Promotion of Employment-oriented Vocational and Technical Training Programme (PEVOT).
PEVOT is a programme of six German agencies that work with the ministry, to scale up vocational technical training in the country. The programme supports both public and private initiatives in developing a skills-based education and training system.
Now in its third phase, PEVOT has been working within the education sector framework. Its multi-pronged approach is purposely to reform vocational training in Uganda.
The German organisations work on a number of levels, including planning, funding and assisting implementation of projects. “At the same time, we design and test new concepts and models of training aimed at ensuring relevance and employability of graduates,†explains Frauke Ossig, the PEVOT programme expert.
“PEVOT has been involved in policy reform towards a more competence-based education and training (CBET) concept. In this regard, we supported the ministry in establishing the Uganda Vocational Qualifications Framework (UVQF), which aims at consolidating what is taught in institutions and what actually happens in the real field.â€
The development of UVQF is guided by the basic principles of CBET, which is aimed at linking vocational training to the world of work, leading to more relevant and credible vocational training qualifications in Uganda.
With UVQF in place, Business, Technical and Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) are expected to become more relevant for employment.