Five schools under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme are set to receive ultra-modern equipment to facilitate their students in a bid to make them more competitive on the labour market.

The equipment will be procured through a partnership between the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and the Federal Republic of German through KfW Development Bank.

The five schools set to benefit are; Nelson Mandela Education Centre, Nyamata Technical Secondary School (TSS), both in Bugesera District, Mpanda Vocational Training Centre (VTC) in Ruhango District, Kavumu VTC in Nyanza District, and Gisenyi VTC in Rubavu District.

The equipment for all the schools will be worth 5.5 million Euros (Rwf4.6 billion).

Speaking during the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for construction of training facilities at Nyamata TSS on Monday, the Director General of WDA, Jerome Gasana, said the the project will help address the issue of shortage of training equipment in TVET schools.

He said the project consists of helping construct and increase capacities of workshops and buying new equipment.

Industry-based training

"We want to train people who will be capable of generating jobs through putting in practice the skills they get from TVET schools,” he said.

"That means changing the mindset and teaching methodology whereby we need to embrace more practical training,” he said adding that they also started an Industry-Based Training (IBT) programme to help students get enough time to study and get practical skills for them to finish their studies with hands-on skills.

WDA is also in negotiations with the KfW Bank for the setting up of fully-equipped training facilities in other seven TVET schools at a tune of over 7 million Euros.

The Director of KfW Kigali office, Markus Bär said TVET in Germany, is one of the main pillars and engine of economic development.

"What makes TVET special is that it creates employment and income for many people. And what is also important about TVET is that the qualifications that you can learn here will be relevant in the future as they are on long-term basis,” he said.

He added: "An electrician, a carpenter or a bricklayer will always be needed because technology can not replace the work you do. So, I think what you are learning here is really good investment to your own future,” he told students at Nyamata.

John Sebahana, the Manager of Nyamata TSS, a TVET school with 831 students in various departments, including masonry, carpentry, tailoring, mechanical engineering, computer electronics and electricity, said the school had old and insufficient equipment.

"The workshops where students get practical skills did not have enough equipment and even those in existence were old. Such equipment need regular maintenance. But if we get new equipment, it will help us to even set up an incubation centre, which will help us to be self-sufficient in terms of production unit and subsequently become more relevant on the job market,” he said.

Gasana said they hope that by the beginning of the next academic year (in January or February, 2016), the facilities will be ready for use.

Information from the Ministry of Education shows that the number of students in TVET in 2015, was 94,373, including 20,932 in VTCS and 67,456 in Technical Secondary Schools.

The government targets 134,185 students enroll in TVET institutions by 2018.

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