KAMPALA – The Ministry of Education and Sports has challenged Technical and Vocational Education and Training – TVET Assessors to invest more time and resources in researching, building personal capacity, and practicing in their specialization to make skilling and assessment lively, relevant and adaptive to the world of work in tandem with the prevailing technology and production as well as enterprising mindset.
A total of 143 Uganda Business and Technical Examinations Board – UBTEB Assessors on Thursday completed their two-week training at the Uganda Industrial Research Institute, Namanve.
The training supported by the Uganda Skills Development Project (USDP) targets Instructors/Lecturers in the specialties of Construction, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Plumbing from Centres of Excellence and their affiliated Vocational Training Institutions.
This third phase of training, according to Mr. Oyesigye Onesmus, the UBTEB Executive Secretary, increased their database by 147 from 321 to now 468. “The training is for Assessors and later create the level of Verifiers and trainers of trainers.”
Officiating at the closure function, Ms. Loy Muhwezi, the Commissioner TVET at Ministry of Education urged the Assessors to upgrade their skills in both the occupations (Technical skills) and Curriculum delivery skills so that they instruct trainees and assess them on the skills in which they have adequate knowledge and practice.
She said that at the beginning of the workshop, it was envisaged that the training would ensure that; the Assessors are taken through understanding how Assessment tools are aligned to the industry standards and the Assessors’ database is expanded.
“The most critical field activity of excursion/ industrial site visits that we have been informed about was deliberately for you to appreciate how blended approaches in TVET assessment (and perhaps training) should be informed by the Industry/occupational standards and entrepreneurial trends,” she said.
“I hope the practical trials using the equipment and materials in the world of work has significantly drawn lessons quite peculiar compared to the consensus which you had drawn during the planning and review of the item testing procedures and protocols in the performance of practical tasks.”
Ms. Muhwezi said that in the competence-based Assessment model they await to see more evidence consistently recorded of the tasks performed and actions taken to ensure that the trainees gain the competencies that measure to the employers’ expectations.
“We would also like to adopt a modular approach to assessment to make the trainees access assessments at their convenience and affordability if they could still join the world of work. This will enable them to come back and complete the assessment packages for them to gain additional competencies.”
Mr. Oyesigye revealed that during the training, the Assessors were categorized into Welding and Fabrication; Automated Production (Machining); Industrial Maintenance (Machining); Road construction equipment maintenance; Concrete Technology; Brick and Calvert Technology; Soil and Materials Science; Electrical-Industrial Installation; Electrical-Domestic Installation; Plumbing; ICT; Agriculture-Animal Industry; Agriculture-Crop; and Agro-processing.
“The products which have been exhibited for your inspection today are the outputs of this training and I want to thank the Training Coordinator and the participants for this practical deliverable. I am aware that due to time and protocol-related challenges, some groups’ production lines were negatively affected but the principles and procedures of production have been mastered and adhered to,” said Oyesigye.
He urged the participants to endeavor to connect to the industries in their respective areas of skilling to the trainees and to the training, saying that it makes meaning when most of the trainees are training directly in the production centres.
He also advised them to strive for the achievement of the next level certification, saying that it is possible “because some assessors who trained previously have appeared for training as verifiers and later they will train to become Trainers of Trainers.”
