The Chairperson of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET), Allen Kagina, has reaffirmed the government’s commitment to empowering Uganda’s workforce and unlocking employment opportunities through transferable skills and industrial training.
Kagina made the remarks while delivering the keynote address during the two-day Oil and Gas Skills Expo held at Makerere University. The expo was organized by the Petroleum Authority of Uganda in partnership with stakeholders in the oil and gas sector.
She noted that governments around the world are increasingly focusing on transferable skills and technical competencies as critical drivers of economic transformation and employment creation.
According to Kagina, Uganda has deliberately prioritized human capital development, industrial skilling, and job creation under successive national development frameworks, with the oil and gas sector emerging as one of the country’s strongest examples of structured workforce planning and national capacity development.
“Through the Petroleum Authority of Uganda, the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, licensed operators, contractors, and training institutions, Uganda has invested significantly in developing internationally benchmarked competencies in areas such as welding, health and safety, environmental management, fabrication, logistics, engineering support, and technical operations,” Kagina said.
She further emphasized the need to expand apprenticeship and workplace learning systems, arguing that competence is not built through classroom instruction alone but also through exposure to real operational environments.
Kagina also called for stronger labour market intelligence systems to help the country track workforce demand, identify future industrial needs, and address emerging skills gaps.
As part of efforts to empower Ugandans and create employment opportunities, government has developed a Workforce Skills Development Strategy aimed at preparing citizens for opportunities within the oil and gas industry and related sectors.
Officials project that Uganda’s oil and gas sector will generate approximately 14,000 direct jobs, 42,000 indirect jobs, and 10,000 induced jobs.
The Petroleum Authority of Uganda organizes the Oil and Gas Skills Expo in line with Regulation 5 of the Petroleum Exploration, Development and Production (National Content) Regulations, 2016, which mandates the authority to organize conferences and educational forums aimed at promoting national content in Uganda’s oil and gas sector.
In executing its mandate of regulating and monitoring the petroleum industry, the Petroleum Authority of Uganda focuses on five key areas, including petroleum resource management, cost monitoring, petroleum data management, health, safety and environmental management, and national content development aimed at increasing Ugandan participation in the sector.