Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa 20142019
Activity Report of Field Research

Relevance of TVET to Labor Market in Uganda: Focused on Technical and Vocational
Institutions
Ayano Kayahara1

I. Summary
1. English Summary
The primary objective of the field research is to examine the relevance of Technical and Vocational
Education and Training (TVET) to the labor market needs in Uganda, especially focusing on technical andvocational institutions in Kampala and Iganga Districts, by investigating the government’s experience (i.e.,
policy and programs) and various stakeholders’ perceptions. Thereby, this research also aims at considering
possible solutions in Uganda in terms of youth’s skills development and employment in order to achieve
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 8 which primarily target quality education and economic
growth. Uganda is accounted for a number of young people and the Ugandan government has beenemphasizing the human resource development of the youth through TVET. Although the number of TVET
trainees has been increasing because of the government’s policy, many issues related to the youth and TVET
are still discussed and the issue of relevance is one of them.
The researcher visited Nakawa Vocational Training Institute and Iganga Technical Institute andinteracted with instructors and trainees. In addition, the researcher visited graduates of the targeted institutes
who are working in industries and conducted a questionnaire survey with the graduates and theiremployers/supervisors. Through the questionnaire survey and interviews with them, the field researchfound that the government is making great efforts to involve more and more industries in TVET activities
and enhance the relevance of TVET. Moreover, although TVET tends to be regarded as a second chance ofgeneral education, the researcher found that the trainees and graduates at the targeted institutes view TVET
in a more positive way and are highly motivated to achieve a higher level of education and training, whichis the one that employers expect for TVET graduates. This report is a research activity report andsummarizes the preliminary findings of the field research. The researcher will conduct an in-depth analysisof the collected data and compile the results into a Master’s thesis at Kobe University.

1 Master’s student of Department of Regional Cooperation Policy Studies at Kobe University, Graduate School of International

Cooperation Studies, Japan. The researcher conducted the field study under the supervision of Dr. James Wokadala, Dean of
School of Statistics and Planning, Makerere University from September to October, 2019.
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2. Japanese Summary
本現地調査は、ウガンダにおける職業教育訓練（TVET）の労働市場とのレリバンス（関連性）を調査す
ることを目的として行ったものである。特に、本調査はカンパラ県とイガンガ県にある技術・職業訓練校を対象としている。具体的に、本調査ではウガンダ政府の TVET に関する政策やプログラムを通した経験、および様々なステークホルダーの TVET に対する意識について調査を行った。それにより、本調査では持続可能な開発目標（SDG）4（質の高い教育）および 8（経済成長）を達成するために、ウガンダにおける若者の技術訓練や雇用問題に対する考えられる解決策についても検討することとする。ウガンダは
若者の人口が多く、ウガンダ政府は TVET を通した若者の人的資源開発を重視してきた。その結果、TVET校への就学人口は増加傾向にあるものの、未だ若者や TVET に関する多くの課題が議論の対象となっており、TVET のレリバンスはその一つに挙げられる。
著者は、ナカワ職業訓練校およびイガンガ技術訓練校を訪問し、指導教員や訓練生と交流をした。また、現在就職している対象校の卒業生も訪問し、彼らや彼らの雇用主もしくは上司を対象に質問票調査を行った。これらの質問票調査やインタビュー調査を通して、本現地調査ではより多くの企業が TVET に関わる活動へ参加し、レリバンスを高められるよう、ウガンダ政府が尽力していることが分かった。さらには、通常 TVET に対する人々の意識は消極的なものであるものの、本調査を通して、対象校の訓練生や卒業生が TVET に対して好意的な見方をしていること、またより高いレベルの教育や訓練の達成を目指していることが判明した。また、このことは、雇用主が TVET 卒業生に期待する条件とも一致していた。
なお、本報告書は現地調査の活動内容および暫定的調査結果を纏めたものである。著者は収集したデータのさらなる分析を行い、その結果を神戸大学での修士論文に纏める予定である。

II. Research Activity
1. Introduction
Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which is one of the education sectors is gaining
more and more attention in the world, for instance, because of expanded primary education opportunities.
The Republic of Uganda (hereinafter referred to Uganda), one of the East African countries, has been alsoemphasizing the TVET field in order to improve human resource development. Uganda is one of the first
countries in Africa which has implemented Universal Primary Education (UPE) in 1997. As a result, a
number of children could receive the primary level of education; that is, this result generated many children
who completed the primary level but could not go to secondary level because one of the reasons is a limited
capacity to accommodate those children. Since then, the country has implemented several policies such as
Universal Secondary Education (USE) and Universal Post-O’Level Education and Training (UPOLET) to
expand educational opportunities for children and youth.
In particular, Uganda is a young country where those who are aged 10-24 years account for 35
percent of the total population.Ref. 1 However, as mentioned above, many children have difficulty in attaining
secondary education (e.g., the country’s net enrollment rate was about 25 percent in 2016).Ref. 2 That is why
the Ugandan government has been making efforts to provide education and training opportunities to acquire
knowledge and skills for post-primary children and the youth who have completed only the primaryeducation or dropped out the secondary level. As a result of the government’s implementation, the numberof TVET trainees has been increasing from 21,763 in 2007 to 87,963 in 2015.Ref. 32This field research aimed at examining the relevance of TVET to the labor market needs in Uganda,
particularly focusing on technical and vocational institutions (the two-year upper secondary level) in
Kampala and Iganga Districts. The researcher specifically focuses on (i) to examine the current TVET
situation through the government’s TVET policy and TVET programs and (ii) to identify direct (supply)and indirect (demand) beneficiaries’ experiences and expectations for TVET. Here, direct beneficiaries
represent instructors, trainees, and graduates of TVET institutions and indirect beneficiaries are employers
who hire TVET graduates as employees.
The researcher sets the following research questions in order to achieve the objectives of the fieldresearch mentioned above:(i) What are the Ugandan government’s experience and expectations for TVET in terms of therelevance of TVET?
(ii) How do direct beneficiaries (i.e., trainees and graduates) perceive TVET?
(iii) How do indirect beneficiaries (i.e., employers) perceive TVET graduates’ performance andskills?
Moreover, the research takes account of contributions to SDGs 4 and 8 which deal with increase of youths
with skills relevant to labor market and their employment. Because Uganda has difficulty in ‘relevance’ of
TVET and youth’s employment, the researcher believes that this research contributes to consideringsolutions for future achievement of SDGs in Uganda. This report of the field research shows an overview
of research activities and preliminary findings from data collected through field research. The researcher
analyzes the collected data further in-depth and compiles the results into a Master’s thesis at Kobe
University, Graduate School of International Cooperation Studies.

2. Study Area
The researcher conducted the research at randomly selected technical and vocational institutions in or near
the industrial areas of Uganda under the supervision and support by Dr. James Wokadala who is my advisor
in the field. The targeted technical and vocational institutions are Nakawa Vocational Training Institute(Nakawa VTI) and Iganga Technical Institute (Iganga TI). Nakawa VTI is located in Kampala District inwhich the capital city of Uganda, Kampala City is and a number of industries locate. Iganga TI is within
Iganga District which is close to Jinja District, another industrial area in Uganda (see Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Map of Uganda.
Source: Created by the author.

There are nine departments at Nakawa VTI and Iganga TI, respectively. Tables 1 and 2 show the numberof full-time trainees by departments for each institution. Moreover, the researcher also visited other fields
such as the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) and industries in Kampala District. More specifically,
the researcher visited automotive, steel, and beverage industries for interviewing TVET graduates and theiremployers/supervisors. As an additional activity, I visited small-scale industries such as metal fabrication,phone repairing, shoemaking, carpentry, and bakery under the coordination of the Uganda Small Scale
Industries Association (USSIA).
Table 1: Number of trainees by department at Nakawa VTI.

Department

Year 1

Year 2

Total

Male

FemaleMale

FemaleMale

Electronics

20

3

20

5

40

8

48

Electricity

16

7

26

9

42

16

58

Machining and Fitting

23

4

17

5

40

9

49

Motor Vehicle

24

4

31

1

55

5

60

Wood Working

19

1

8

1

27

2

29

Plumbing and Sheet Metal

22

11

33

3

55

14

69

Welding and Fabrication

20

0

16

2

36

2

38

22

10

28

7

50

17

67

Auto Electrical

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total

166

40

179

33

345

73

418

Block/Brick Laying andConcrete PracticeFemale Subtotal

Source: Created by the author.

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Table 2: Number of trainees by department at Iganga TI.

Year 1

Department

Year 2

Total

Male

FemaleMale

FemaleMale

Building Construction

43

0

25

2

68

2

70

Plumbing

72

20

50

33

122

53

175

Fashion and Garment Design

1

34

2

21

3

55

58

Automotive Mechanics

84

3

89

0

153

3

156

83

15

65

11

148

26

174

Wood Work Technology

3

0

2

0

5

0

5

Machining and Fitting

38

3

1

31

39

34

73

Welding and Fabrication

17

1

8

1

25

2

27

Catering

1

2

0

0

1

2

3

Total

342

78

242

99

584

177

761

Electrical Installation Systems
and MaintenanceFemale Subtotal

Source: Created by the author.

3. Methodology
The field study adopts a triangulation method which is composed of: (a) document review, (b) questionnaire
survey and interviews, and (c) observation. The researcher reviewed documents relevant to the Ugandan
government policy and development plan for TVET. Targets for questionnaire survey and interviews are
officers at MoES, Business Technical Vocational Education and Training (BTVET) Department, andinstructors, trainees, and graduates at the targeted institutions. In addition, as mentioned earlier, theresearcher visited five industries that have graduates from the targeted institutions as employees andconducted a questionnaire survey with employers or supervisors of the graduates, as well as the graduates(see Table 3). The study also observed classes for Electrical Engineering and workshops for Departmentsof Welding, Plumbing, Wood Working, Motor Vehicle, Machining and Fitting, Electricity, and Electronics
at Nakawa VTI and Departments of Automotive and Machining and Fitting at Iganga TI to understand thelearning and training environment.
Table 3: Number of informants.

MethodCategory

Questionnaire Survey

Interviews

Targeted Institution

Total

Nakawa VTI

Iganga TI

Trainees

18

40

58

Graduates

14

4

18

Employers6

1

7

Instructors

3

4

7

Government Officers-

2

Source: Created by the author.

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The researcher randomly selected two departments at the targeted institutions, Department of Motor
Vehicle/Automobile and Department of Machining and Fitting for the research. The research investigatedmainly about the followings for each informant:(i) For a questionnaire survey with trainees and graduates: Reason(s) why they chose the targeted
institution and department, and perception towards TVET including the assessment of TVETat the institution;(ii) For a questionnaire survey with employers: Assessment of graduates’ performance and skills,
and perception towards cooperation with TVET institutions;(iii) For a semi-structured interview with instructors: Assessment of trainees’ and graduates’
attitude and performance, and cooperation with industries; and(iv) For a semi-structured interview with government officers: Policy and programs for TVET and
way of developing the relevance of TVET.
Before visiting the field, the researcher prepared draft questionnaire forms and interview guides to ask
informants. Furthermore, in order to collect valid answers through questionnaire surveys and interviews,
the researcher finalized the forms and guides by receiving cooperation from an assistant of my field advisor,
the deputy principal training, an instructor, and a trainee at Nakawa VTI and the principal at Iganga TI for
the review of questionnaire and questions for the interview.

4. Research Findings
The researcher summarizes the preliminary findings collected through the field research in terms of (1)policy and programs of the Ugandan government, (2) perception of trainees and graduates, and (3)perception of employers.
(1) Policy and programs of the Ugandan government
The Ugandan government has established and been implementing a ten-year strategic plan for TVET whichis called “Skilling Uganda” from 2012/13-2021/22. In addition, as mentioned in the introduction, thegovernment has also implemented the UPOLET policy to support TVET financially. The researcher
interviewed two officers at the BTVET Department of MoES mainly about the two policies.
a) Notable outcomes and remained challenges in “Skilling Uganda” and UPOLET
The government officers explained that there are several notable outcomes as a result of “Skilling Uganda”
and UPOLET. For example, the government established new TVET institutions and increased the funding
for TVET to recruit more instructors and increase enrollment. However, they answered that it is not enoughbecause the population of the country is growing at the same time. In addition, one of the officers explained
the implementation status of “Skilling Uganda” as follows:
It [“Skilling Uganda”] was a kind of reform to bring relevancy of training to that employer. … So
the strategy was put in place, but the process was not conclusively done. …, whereby some areasof the strategy were left untouched (Government officer A, September 17, 2019).

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Another officer mentioned the increment in the cost of living for trainees and their parents. Since
the education expenses increase as the level of education goes up, increasing the cost of living matters fortrainees and parents and affects the difference in tuition among TVET institutions. For instance, there is alarge difference in the amount of tuition between Nakawa VTI and Iganga TI. Nakawa VTI locates in thecapital city; therefore, the cost of living is also expensive than other districts such as Iganga District. The
amount of tuition differs from urban to rural areas.
b) New TVET policy 2019
The Ugandan government has approved a new TVET policy in the spring of 2019. One of the reasons that
this new policy was approved is that the previous strategic plan “Skilling Uganda” has not been carried out
sufficiently, especially in terms of the relevance of TVET. One of the noteworthy contents in the policy isthat the government will establish the TVET Council to organize the overall TVET activities in Uganda.
The policy states that at least two-thirds of the council members shall be from industries/employers in orderto reflect industries’ needs into TVET activities more and improve the relevance of TVET.
c) Challenges and opportunities
There are still several challenges in TVET in Uganda as mentioned above, although some improvements
were generated by the efforts of the government. As well as the financial issues, another problem mentionedby one of the officers was the collaboration with several ministries. Since TVET relates to many industries
such as agriculture and health, it requires collaboration with different ministries which are in charge of eachindustry. In the case of Uganda, for example, the agriculture aspect is carried out by the ministry ofagriculture, and apprenticeship training is under the ministry of labor. The officer said:
Different aspects of TVET are managed by different ministries. … when you have a scatteredsystem, and that does not speak to each other, it becomes a big problem because education may
not know what training interventions are in other ministries at what level and how many
(Government officer A, September 17, 2019).
On the other hand, the officer also mentioned the advantage of collaborating with several ministries
that:
Advantage is when we talk about TVET in agriculture, … they are the best, nobody can do it better
than them (Government officer A, September 17, 2019).
Therefore, he said that MoES needs to supervise the collaboration so that they can work together effectively,
although it does not enough supervision, or in other words, not enough time and manpower to supervise
yet.

7Figure 2: With a government officer at Nakawa VTI.
Source: Author.

Figure 3: With a government officer at MoES.
Source: Author.

d) Future of TVET in Uganda
Both officers who participated in this research answered that the future of TVET in Uganda is bright,
especially if the new policy is put in place as stipulated, and both mentioned about Public-Private
Partnerships (PPPs). According to Government officer A, employers very much want to be involved in
PPPs in TVET because they are frustrated to receive TVET graduates who do not have sufficient skills.
Moreover, the other government officer answered:I think we need more collaboration with countries which have a successful TVET system. We needmore. … We have some collaboration with Ghana and Ethiopia in attending TVET conference andTVET training. (Government officer B, October 11, 2019).
(2) Perception of trainees and graduates
The field study collected trainees’ and graduates’ more positive perspectives towards TVET, while theystated some challenges and issues they are facing through and after TVET. The followings summarize themajor findings from their answers.
a) Reasons for choice
Many of the informants answered that they chose the department (i.e., motor vehicle/automotive or
machining and fitting) because they were interested and/or had passion in the field. This result is also
supported by another answer that most of them decided to go to TVET institutions by themselves, whilesome of them decided by recommendations from others such as parents and school teachers.
b) Assessment of training
The questionnaire survey asked trainees and graduates to evaluate the training at the targeted institutions interms of five aspects: (i) level of skills, (ii) training delivery (e.g., competence of instructors), (iii)equipment and training environment, (iv) life skills (e.g., communication), (v) outside activities (e.g.,8internship). Averagely they answered positively for all aspects. In particular, since both targeted institutions
have received supports from development partners, most trainees and graduates were satisfied with theequipment and training environment, although some trainees complained about the lack of new technology
in the training environment.

Figure 4: Instructor preparing for class.
Source: Author.

Figure 5: Workshop for Motor Vehicle at Nakawa VTI.
Source: Author.

c) Motivation to a higher level of education and training
All of the trainees and graduates answered that they want to receive a higher-level education or training inorder to acquire knowledge and skills more and get employed at higher positions. However, many of themanswered that they do not afford to pay tuition for further education or training. Even for graduates, theyanswered that it is difficult to save money for a higher level of education and training because their payment
is not enough and they cannot receive any financial support from their parents anymore.
d) Challenges
Challenges are, as mentioned above, mostly financial issues. The researcher found that many trainees
cannot come to Nakawa VTI on the first day or week of a new term because the tuition for Nakawa VTI is
more expensive than that for Iganga TI and they cannot collect enough money to pay tuition before thebeginning of the term. On the other hand, trainees at Iganga TI face another financial difficulty. According
to instructors at Iganga TI, some of their trainees need to pay trainers, especially in self-employed industries,
for training fee as interns because there is limitation in the number of large industries that can accept TVET
trainees as interns and there are a number of small industries which are mostly self-employers and do notmake enough amount of profits to accommodating interns without charge.

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Figure 6: Workshop for Machining and Fitting at Iganga TI.
Source: Author.

Figure 7: With the principal of Iganga TI.
Source: Author.

e) Perception towards TVET
The questionnaire asked about trainees’ and graduates’ perceptions towards TVET since the previous
literature argues that mostly TVET is considered as “second chance” to go back to the mainstream ofeducation.Ref. 4 and 5 Some of their answers are:- I see [TVET as] a big opportunity of being employed (Trainee 3, October 2, 2019);- As the best way anyone else can take in order to achieve in life (Trainee 19, October 8, 2019);- I see it as something positive as compared to university studying because, with TVET, you havethe skill which cannot be destroyed by any other person (Trainee 29, October 8, 2019); and- The best path ever (Graduate 16, September 30, 2019).
As shown above, most trainees and graduates answered that they saw TVET as a chance to acquire skills
and get employed, not a second chance to go back to the main education stream (e.g., general education).
They also answered that they recommend other young people to go to technical/vocational institutions
because:- Good technical institutions are a source of better skills for one to live a better life (Graduate 15,
September 27, 2019); and- There is a shortcut to success (Trainee 53, October 8, 2019).
(3) Perception of employers
Seven employers and supervisors of TVET graduates from five industries kindly answered thequestionnaire about their perception towards the graduates’ performance and skills, and the collaboration
with TVET institutions. The followings present these two aspects.

10a) Assessment of graduates’ performance and skills
All the employers answered that the skills that TVET is imparting are meeting their needs. In detail, theyanswered that TVET graduates are very creative and generate solutions to problems and that they have goodknowledge of specific fields and hands-on experience. However, as for the assessment about whether thetargeted TVET institutions meet the skill needs of the employers’ business adequately or not, the employers
averagely rated 3.3 out of 5 points which stands for that they neither disagree nor agree about the aspect.
That is, the skills of graduates may not be the satisfied level for the employers, even if graduates have somerelevant knowledge and skills.
b) Understanding of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
Four out of five industries that the researcher visited have PPPs with Nakawa VTI, while the other one
industry which hires graduates from Iganga TI does not have PPP with Iganga TI yet. The industries having
PPPs with Nakawa VTI cooperate with Nakawa VTI in various ways such as providing internship andemployment opportunities and designing a Diploma level course. The employer of the industry which does
not have PPP yet answered that:
We would be able to tailor the employees with the skills we require in the technical field. The role
would be mentorship/internship (Employer 7, September 30, 2019).
Therefore, the industry is also positively motivated to cooperate with TVET institutions, as well as otherindustries that already have PPPs with the institutions.

5. Discussion
First, the Ugandan government has been making great efforts to improve the TVET system in Uganda suchas increasing the funding for infrastructure and trainees. With these efforts, the research found that thecountry increased access to TVET institutions for children and youth. However, there are still remained
issues, especially in terms of the relevance of TVET with industries. Therefore, the government specificallyfocuses on collaboration with industries by specifying a way of involving industries in order to improve therelevance of TVET.
Secondly, trainees and graduates have positive perceptions towards TVET, while the previous
research discusses that most trainees perceive it negatively as a second chance of education. For example,
it can be understood from their answers to recommending other young people to go to TVET institutions.
Moreover, they are highly motivated to continue a higher level of education and training in order to upgrade
their skills and obtain a higher position in their work. However, they are still facing financial issues while
they are receiving TVET and after they completed TVET. Although trainees can acquire skills through
TVET, TVET is more expensive and some of them have to pay for outside activities such as internships.
Even though trainees and graduates are motivated to proceed to a higher level of education and training,they do not afford to pay for additional tuition to achieve their goals.
Employers also expect graduates who have at least a Certificate level of technical skills; however,they answered that they expect graduates who have higher skills than the Certificate level. That is, theemployers’ expectations of highly skilled graduates match with trainees’ and graduates’ motivation toachieve a higher level of education or training. However, unless the financial issues faced by trainees andgraduates are solved, the expectations and motivations will not be realized. On the other hand, since the11employers are also motivated to collaborate with TVET institutions, it might be possible to solve theproblems if industries and TVET institutions sufficiently cooperate each other.

6. Conclusion
The researcher conducted field research in Uganda in order to examine the relevance of TVET in Uganda
and identify the stakeholders’ perceptions of TVET. The researcher visited mainly two technical andvocational institutions, Nakawa Vocational Training Institute and Iganga Technical Institute. Through thefield research, the researcher interacted with governmental officers, instructors, and trainees at the targeted
technical and vocational institutions, and graduates of the institutions and their employers/supervisors. Then,the research found the experience and efforts of the Ugandan government to improve the relevance of TVET,
and the perceptions of trainees, graduates, and employers.
Not only trainees at technical and vocational institutions, the researcher visited small-scaleindustries and interacted with the youth who are unemployed but receiving skills training under thesupervision of employers. The trainees at small-scale industries also positively saw the training andenvisioned their future after the completion of training. For instance, one of the trainees at a shoe shop said
that he wants to open his own shop after he completes the training. Similar to the trainees at small-scaleindustries, trainees at the targeted institutes show their positive perception towards TVET. As implied byinstructors and government officers, people’s perception of TVET has been changing. If TVET institutions
cooperate with industries and enhance the relevance of TVET, more skilled workers will be successfully
generated and people’s perception towards TVET will also change more in a positive way. This will be also
one of the possible ways to satisfy SDGs 4 and 8, that is, increase of skilled youths with relevance to labormarket and improvement of their employment.
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my deepest gratitude to Office of Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa,
United Nations University, Institute of the Advanced Study of Sustainability, especially Dr. Osamu Saito,
Dr. Natsuko Imai, and all staff who generously gave me this wonderful opportunity and supported thisresearch from the very beginning. I would also like to thank my two supervisors in Japan and in Uganda,
Dr. Keiichi Ogawa, Professor at Kobe University and Dr. James Wokadala, Dean of School of Statistics
and Planning at Makerere University for their continuous support and valuable comments throughout thisresearch.
Most of all, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all the informants who kindly
accepted my request and took the time to respond to my questionnaire and interview. In particular, I would
like to thank officers at the Ministry of Education and Sports, Uganda, all instructors, staff, and trainees at
Nakawa Vocational Training Institute and Iganga Technical Institute, graduates from those technical andvocational institutes and their employers/supervisors, and Uganda Small Scale Industries Association who
kindly introduced me about the situation of small-scale industries in Uganda. Without everyone’s support,
I would have never known the reality of Uganda in terms of youth’s skills development and could not havecompleted my field research. Thank you very much.
References
1. “Population Projections 2018.” Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBoS). Accessed April 3, 2019.
https://www.ubos.org/wp-content/uploads/statistics/Population_Projections_2018.xlsx.
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2. “Explore Statistics: Education.” UBoS. Accessed April 1, 2019. https://www.ubos.org/explorestatistics/21/.
3. Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), Uganda. 2017. Education and Sports Sector Strategic Plan
2017/18-2019/20. Kampala, Uganda: MoES.
4. Moses, Kirya Mateeke. 2016. “Improving the Quality and Competence of Technical Vocational
Education and Training Output through Vocational School Cooperation with Industry: A case study of
Uganda.” AIP Conference Proceedings 1778(1): 1-5.
5. Tukundane, Cuthbert, Alexander Minnaert, Jaccques Zeelen, and Peter Kanyandago. 2015. “Building
Vocational Skills for Marginalized Youth in Uganda: A SWOT Analysis of Four Training Programmes.”
International Journal of Educational Development 40: 134-44.

III. Reflection to the GLTP in Africa
I participated in the Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa mainly with two objectives. One isto know the situation of youths in Uganda where there are a number of young people. The other one is to
identify the youth’s perception, especially that of those who are receiving or have received Technical andVocational Education and Training (TVET). Since I had never been to any of African countries, I was
motivated to conduct the field research to pursue the objectives and interact with people in the country.
Moreover, although I set the main targets for the youth who were involved in TVET at school, I was highlyinterested in all the people who were involved in TVET and local people who worked in their communities
with their own business. I have believed that participating in this program would be a wonderful opportunity
to achieve these objectives and broaden my horizons.
The overall impression of mine through field research is that young people in Uganda are highly
motivated to upgrade their skills and envision their future positively. I felt that TVET contributes to not
only providing young people with an opportunity to acquire skills for employment but also giving themself-confidence. During the field research, I visited Nakawa Vocational Training Institute (Nakawa VTI)
and Iganga Technical Institute (Iganga TI), which are Certificate level TVET institutions, to conduct
questionnaire surveys and interviews with instructors and trainees there and industries where graduatesfrom the targeted institutions were working to interact with them and their employers/supervisors. I talked
with them about their experiences in TVET and how they perceive TVET and obtained voices from thosevarious informants.
First of all, I found that every trainee at the targeted institutions is keen to proceed to a Diploma or
higher level and upgrade their skills and knowledge, although the environment and background are different
from trainee to trainee and between the two institutions. For example, Nakawa VTI is fairly organized andhas been continuously receiving supports from development partners; therefore, the institution has
developed its Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) with large industries in Uganda and can offer internships
and employment opportunities to its trainees. On the other hand, Iganga TI is still working on thedevelopment of PPPs. Although Iganga TI still offers internship opportunities to its trainees, suchopportunities at large industries are limited, or rather I heard that some trainees need to pay for theirinternship training fee. Still, trainees at both institutions answered that they wanted to acquire higher skills
and knowledge, as well as a Diploma degree, while they are facing several difficulties.
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I also received positive opinions from the local communities when I visited some small-scaleindustries in the country with USSIA. There, some unemployed young people were receiving skills training
from the local self-employers through the Skill UP project and I found that their training environment isdifferent from that at the institutions. In particular, they do more practical tasks than theoretical learningand the training equipment is not enough. However, similar to trainees at the institutions, I received
comments from the trainees of the Skill UP project that they want to have their own workshops and start
their own business after they complete the training. Similar opinions about having workshops and being
self-employed were found in answers from the trainees at the targeted institutions. One of the reasons forthis answer I understand is that they place high importance on the network with the local people. They
believe that they can contribute to the community by opening their own workshops and providing services
with their skills, rather than getting employed in industries.
I would have never obtained these findings if I had not visited the field and interacted with those
informants. On the other hand, I faced several difficulties in doing field activities. One of the significant
difficulties is the limitation of time and time management. Since I planned to collect data from a wide
variety of informants, I needed time to collect sufficient data from them. This challenge was overcome bykind and cooperative coordination of the institutions’ principal, deputy principals, instructors, and all staff
there. In addition, I needed the flexibility to arrange the activity schedule, while the time for the fieldresearch was limited. It is mostly because the punctuality of local people and the transportation condition
were different from those of Japan. I was sometimes forced to reschedule my field activities flexibly
because of these reasons; however, I could learn how local people build a relationship of trust with others
under such conditions through this experience. Although the challenges I experienced in the field sometimes
disturbed my field activities, they also allowed me to acquire competences to accommodate myself to the
local culture and customs by overcoming the challenges and getting familiar with the local environment.

Figure 8: Trainee at a shoe shop.
Source: Author.

Figure 9: Trainee at a bakery shop.
Source: Author.

I believe that these experiences and competences I obtained through the field research are beneficial
to develop my career in the near future. In particular, I realized how it was difficult to understand the14

situation faced by the youth and it was important and valuable to hear their opinions to develop their future
together. Moreover, through the communication with development partners who are working in the field, I
understand that it is essential to work with local people together not only for their development but also for
our future development. Therefore, I would like to contribute to building our future by being involved in
the local people and grasping their perceptions of the development throughout my career.
Furthermore, I am sure that this Global Leadership Training Programme in Africa offers otherJapanese master’s and doctoral students an invaluable opportunity to understand the reality in Africancountries and envision their future in the field of international partnership with those countries, as well as
to pursue their thesis and dissertation research. I hope more and more Japanese students interact with people
in African countries and build relationships for our future development. I sincerely appreciate this program
and wish the program continued success and every potential participant a greater success through theprogram. Thank you.

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