Government has today inaugurated new vocational education infrastructure in the Albertine region worth over 9.6 billion shillings. 

The facilities include; dormitories, ICT classrooms and training workshops, and garages. Others are energy-efficient kitchens and water supply systems.

They have been fully equipped with all the necessary tools, equipment, and machinery. 

Beneficiary institutions include; Uganda Technical College - Kyema in Masindi district as well as Millennium Business School and St. Simon Peter’s Vocational Training Centre both in Hoima. 

Enabel Resident Representative Tom Vanneste says the initiative contributes to the transformation of the three institutions into Centres of Vocational Excellence. 

"The new facilities will ensure that the institutions are more conducive for learning and accessible especially for girls,” Vanneste said. 

The infrastructure initiative is part of the Support to Skilling Uganda (SSU) project jointly implemented by Enabel and the Ministry of Education with funding from the Kingdom of Belgium. 

The project provides similar infrastructure support to 4 other vocational training institutions namely; Kasese Youth Polytechnic (Kasese), St. Joseph’s Technical Institute Virika (Fort Portal), Nakapirirpiri Technical Institute (Nakapiripirit) and St. Daniel Comboni Polytechnic (Moroto). 

Besides infrastructure development, the SSU project built the capacity of instructors to enable them to train better. 

It also provided vocational education scholarships to over 12,000 youth, women and girls. Additionally, partner institutions were supported to develop and implement business plans to make self-sustaining. 

The Support to Skilling Uganda project aims to enhance the employability of youth through better of instruction and by making skills training more responsive to the needs of the labour market. 

It is implemented in Albertine/Rwenzori, Karamoja, and West Nile sub-regions.