By Joseph Kiggundu
KAMPALA – The Uganda Vocational and Technical Assessment Board (UVTAB) is revising vocational training curricula to incorporate professional ethics, workplace values and environmental protection as part of efforts to produce graduates who meet the changing demands of employers.
The revised curricula for artisan and craft certificate programmes will place greater emphasis on integrity, teamwork, punctuality, time management and responsible resource use, alongside practical and technical skills.
Peter Oyo, a Principal Curriculum Specialist at UVTAB, said technical expertise alone was no longer sufficient to prepare graduates for the workplace, where employers also expect professionalism, discipline and ethical conduct.
“We want to produce people who are employable and who understand values such as integrity,” Oyo said during the conclusion of a two-week consultative workshop held on Saturday.
He cited cases of workers allegedly stealing materials from clients’ construction sites as an example of the professional misconduct that the revised training programmes seek to address.
Oyo explained that ethical conduct would be integrated into practical lessons to help trainees understand their professional responsibilities. For instance, learners preparing bills of quantities would be trained to calculate material requirements and costs accurately instead of exaggerating the resources needed to execute projects.
The two-week workshop brought together approximately 160 trainers from Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions, employers and other representatives of the world of work to review existing programmes and develop curricula informed by labour market demands.
Oyo said the process began with labour market assessments to establish the skills required by employers and identify gaps in existing training programmes. Trainers subsequently contributed to developing occupational profiles and course content, which will be reviewed by Sector Skills Expert Committees before final validation.
UVTAB plans to refine the draft curricula over the next two to three weeks before convening another stakeholder meeting to validate the proposed programmes.
Principal Curriculum Specialist at UVTAB Mr Peter Oyo (PHOTO/Courtesy).
The review will also incorporate environmental protection, with trainees expected to understand how their production activities and projects affect surrounding communities.
Oyo noted that some production processes release substances that can harm people and the environment, making it important for vocational graduates to understand environmental risks and adopt responsible practices in their respective occupations.
The initiative is expected to promote green technology and encourage environmentally sustainable approaches to production and service delivery.
Oyo said UVTAB had already developed 17 technician-level curricula, which were approved by the TVET Council and are currently being implemented.
At craft level, the Board has developed 32 technology curricula and 10 business curricula. Further labour market surveys are planned in agriculture and home science to guide the development of additional programmes.
The TVET Act provides for training and assessment in five fields: technology, home science, business, agriculture, and sports education and training.
Oyo said labour market assessments in the technology sector had identified demand for both traditional occupations, such as building construction, and emerging areas, including road and bridge construction, water supply and irrigation.
Moses Odeke, an architectural trainer from Yumbe District, said the workshop focused on developing curricula for Artisan Level 2 and Craftsman Level 3 under the Uganda TVET Qualifications Framework.
He explained that participants were required to identify occupations, establish the jobs associated with each qualification and develop the competencies needed to prepare learners for those roles.
Odeke said the review also considered learners with special needs to ensure the competence-based education and training system accommodates people with different learning requirements.
He emphasised that workplace values such as teamwork, punctuality, time management and knowledge sharing were essential in helping vocational graduates integrate into professional environments and work effectively with colleagues.
Under the proposed training structure, Artisan Level 2 targets people seeking formal recognition of existing skills through Recognition of Prior Learning, as well as learners who have completed Primary Seven. For those joining directly after Primary Seven, the programme takes three years.
Craft-level training provides an advanced progression pathway for learners moving up from artisan qualifications and those who have completed Senior Four.
Oyo said comparisons between vocational qualifications and the general education system were still being discussed as the National Qualifications Framework takes shape. Under the current understanding, an artisan qualification is comparable to Senior Four, while a craft certificate is comparable to Senior Six.
The curriculum reforms are part of wider efforts to strengthen Uganda’s TVET system by aligning training with industry requirements, improving graduate employability and ensuring vocational education produces skilled, ethical and environmentally responsible workers.