Workers in Gulu, Uganda. Photo by CAD Productions
Enabel, the Belgian Development Agency, has commissioned CAD to conduct action research on the change processes and lessons learned of the implementation of the pilot Skills Development Fund (SDF) in Uganda.
Enabel, in collaboration with the Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports, implements a multi-donor (Belgium, EU and Ireland) pilot Skills Development Fund.
The SDF is being piloted in three different regions: Albertine & Rwenzori, Northern Uganda, and Karamoja. It takes place in the framework of skills development reforms in Uganda and to address a number of challenges related to Business, Technical, Vocational Education and Training in the country,
The SDF aims at stimulating bottom-up initiatives and partnerships between BTVET institutions and the labour market. Its main objectives are:
> To broker joint ventures between training providers and industry/enterprises in skills development programs;
> To stimulate Skilling Uganda change processes from the grassroots levels;
> To facilitate best practices in skills development;
> Social targeting: supporting skills development for vulnerable youth, women and girls;
> To enhance skills development and livelihoods for improved productivity.
The ability of this fund to contribute to the wider Skilling Uganda reform needs to be analyzed and documented such that the lessons learned can inform and enhance the Ugandan Skills Development initiative. To this end, CAD, in collaboration with the Ugandan Economic Policy Research Centre (EPRC), will carry out an action research between 2018 – 2020 to assess 1) the extent to which the implementation of the SDF responds to the challenges identified in the Ugandan Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system and 2) the extent to which the SDF contributes to the wider Skilling Uganda reform agenda.
The aim of the action research is to test the SDF’s underlying assumptions and to discover and capitalize on best practices and key lessons learned in order to produce policy advice for decision makers. The action research will endeavour to collect and analyze relevant qualitative information that would allow the project and its stakeholders to learn and improve their strategies.
