UNIDO supports Uganda’s first digital curriculum for road infrastructure

To address the industrial skills gap in Uganda, UNIDO jointly with the Government of Japan, the Government of Uganda through the Ministry of Works and Transport (MoWT), and Komatsu Ltd. as a technical partner, are building the first dedicated training centre for road construction equipment operators in Uganda, METRAC (Mechanical Engineering Training and Advisory Centre – Luwero).

The project supports “Uganda Vision 2040” and focuses in particular on bridging the skills gap so that skilled Ugandans can build, maintain and improve the country’s road infrastructure. This is especially important as skilled road equipment operators are highly sought after in Uganda, as this profession is not yet taught at the country’s technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutions.

As part of the project and as a necessary precondition for the training, UNIDO has launched the development of a suitable curriculum for road construction equipment operator trainers for Uganda – an important step on the way to enable young Ugandans to get formal training on the operations of equipment such as motor graders, wheel loaders, excavators, bulldozers and backhoes.

From 2 to 6 August, the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) as the responsible authority under the Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES), and UNIDO conducted the first fully digital curriculum development workshop in the history of Uganda. The 5-day workshop with industry experts was held to develop a new curriculum/Assessment and Training Package (ATP) for road construction equipment operator trainers at level 4 of the Uganda Vocational Qualification Framework.

The ATP was successfully developed and approved by the Ministry of Education and Sports. It will serve as a curriculum outline and assessment basis for the training of all MoWT trainers undertaken by METRAC, as well as the basis for any other future training of road construction equipment operator trainers in Uganda.

For further information contact Stavros Papastavrou (S.Papastavrou [at] unido.org (S[dot]Papastavrou[at]unido[dot]org))