One Way Ticket?:
Graduate Says Vocational Training Was Best Choice After Job Chances
Written by: Christine Naluwooza
Tuesday, September 23, 2025
At first glance, 22-year-old Pastol Ssemwanga blends in with thousands of other young Ugandans trying to find their way in the ever-competitive job market.
However, while many of his age-mates are still chasing internships and job opportunities long after their university graduation, Ssemwanga earns a steady income all without a university degree.
He sat his Uganda Advanced Certificate of Education (UACE) in 2021 and, like many others, he thought university was the natural next step.
“I had dreamed of university like everyone else, but my uncle advised me to consider something practical in Technical and Vocational Education and Training institutions,” he says, adding that “I hesitated, because I thought TVETs were for failures.”
That stereotype that vocational education is a fallback plan is deeply rooted in Ugandan society, and frustrating the country’s idea that vocational training could help skill young people for employment.
Uganda has over 1,200 accredited TVET institutions, yet enrolment remains disproportionately low. Many parents and students associate them with academic failure or economic desperation.
The 2019 Education Sector Annual Performance Report revealed that only 27% of students who finish Ordinary level Senior Four and Advanced Levels Senior Six enroll in TVETs, compared to over 60% who trek to university or for degree or diploma courses.
Yet according to a 2019 research by Makerere University College of Business and Management Science, technical education has a positive and significant causal effect on employment.
Results show that the chances of employment into the labour market for a working age person with TVET education level of attainment increase by 4.3 percent compared to a working age person with other levels of education.
Ssemwanga enrolled at St. Benedict Technical Institute Kisubi, where he studied a diploma in electrical engineering. Now in his final year, he is already delivering on different housing project, with a job at a construction company.
This is a different experience with Brenda Atukunda, 24, who graduated with a degree in Mass Communication from a university in Kampala, and still searches for employment two years after completing her studies.
“I thought university would guarantee me a job,” she says. “But now I live at home, doing small gigs and waiting for a breakthrough.”
According to data from the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) and the Ministry of Education and Sports, over 40% of university graduates remain unemployed or underemployed for at least 18 months after graduation.
In contrast, a 2022 report by the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) found that nearly 60% of TVET graduates found employment or started self-employment within 6–12 months of completing their course.
These figures challenge the traditional perception that university education is the superior path to success.
TVETs offer something university often lacks according to Sr. Hellen Nansubuga, the Principal at St.Benedict Technical Institute. From welding, plumbing, and tailoring to information technology and motor vehicle mechanics, these programs equip students with market-driven knowledge, often in under two years.
“We want to change the narrative … our students graduate with skills they can monetize immediately. Some even start businesses before completing their studies,” she says.
The Ministry of Education and Sports has recognized the imbalance. In its Skilling Uganda Strategic Plan, the government emphasizes the need to promote TVETs as viable alternatives, aiming to increase enrolment and improve quality.
Investments are being made, including partnerships with the World Bank’s Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP), which supports TVET modernization.
Still, challenges persist: inadequate funding, outdated equipment, a shortage of skilled instructors, and limited awareness campaigns.
“We need to do more than build institutions,” says Sr. Hellen. “We must change attitudes — among parents, employers, and students themselves.”
Despite the challenges, students like Ssemwanga represent a shift. Practical, focused, and driven, they are defying the odds and redefining success.
“I want to open my own electronics company one day,” he says, adding that “I used to think a degree was the only way. Now I know that skill is power.”
“I never thought I would say this,” he admits “but joining a Technical and Vocational Education and Training institute (TVET) was the best decision of my life.”
As the country continues to wrestle with youth unemployment and underemployment among university graduates, the government, educators, and development partners are increasingly recognizing the value of Technical and Vocational Education and Training.
Initiatives like the Skilling Uganda Strategic Plan, increased investment in public TVET institutions, and curriculum reforms by the National Curriculum Development Centre (NCDC) signal a national shift toward competency-based education.
Even secondary schools are beginning to incorporate vocational components, and assessment bodies like the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) are aligning qualifications with market needs.
Uganda’s education system, once criticized for being too theoretical, is slowly transforming. It is learning that success should not only be measured in degrees, but in what one can do with their head, hands, and heart.
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