The government has cautioned all Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) skilling institutions to register with the TVET Council or face legal action, following the rollout of wide-ranging reforms under the TVET Act, 2025.
The Act, which was adopted earlier this year and came into force in March, introduces an employer-led and demand-driven skilling system intended to align training with labour market needs.
The reforms place emphasis on stronger regulation, improved quality assurance and closer collaboration between training institutions and industry.
Speaking during a TVET Reforms Dissemination Workshop held in Kampala, TVET Council Executive Director Moses Kasakya said registration is now a legal requirement for any institution intending to produce TVET-trained graduates.
“If any institute is interested in producing TVET-trained graduates, they must follow the law. One of the requirements is registration,” Kasakya said.
“If you are operating on your own, you may compromise standards. The TVET Council must know where you are operating from and be able to confirm that you have the right equipment, adequate workshops and competent trainers.”
Kasakya explained that registration will allow the Council to conduct regular inspections to ensure institutions meet minimum standards, including proper infrastructure, tools and qualified trainers. He stressed that practical training must be delivered by trainers who are themselves skilled practitioners.
“Under TVET training, a trainer should be teaching what they can actually do,” he said. “You cannot have someone teaching motor vehicle mechanics when they cannot repair a vehicle themselves.”
He added that workshops must be large enough to accommodate enrolled learners and adequately equipped to support hands-on training.
The reforms, he said, are intended to eliminate poor practices that have undermined confidence in TVET graduates over the years.
Kasakya noted that the new law seeks to address long-standing weaknesses in the skilling ecosystem, including fragmented governance, weak coordination among providers, limited engagement with employers, and the absence of a unified qualifications framework and formal licensing of trainers.
“Before these reforms, we had fragmented governance and weak coordination across TVET providers. There were also weak linkages to employers and labour market demand, and no unified system for licensing trainers,” he said, noting that this had negatively affected the quality and relevance of skills training.
“Our goal is that when someone is certified, they are capable of doing what they have been trained to do. Secondly, they should be employable because their skills meet market needs. And if they do not find immediate employment, they should be able to start something of their own,” he added.
Kasakya also highlighted persistent skills gaps in key sectors of the economy, citing evidence from the oil and gas industry.
He said that in sectors such as transport, skills go beyond driving to include safety management, time management, discipline and customer service.
“Currently, only about 20 percent of Ugandans are involved in some of these specialised areas, including driving and welding,” he said.
He observed that many industries continue to import skilled labour despite high unemployment among Ugandans, attributing the mismatch to training programmes that are not aligned with industry needs.
“There are many industries importing workers, yet we have Ugandans without jobs. We want curricula that directly address market needs so that Ugandans can take up these opportunities,” Kasakya said.
As implementation of the TVET Act, 2025 begins, the TVET Council says enforcement will be firm but supportive, with continued stakeholder engagement to help institutions understand and comply with the new requirements.
The overarching aim, Kasakya said, is to build a skilled workforce that supports youth employment, industrialisation and Uganda’s broader economic transformation.
