Rwanda is set to send more than 600 graduates in the tourism and hospitality industry  to work at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar scheduled for December 2022.

The development is part of a memorandum of understanding signed between Rwanda’s University of Tourism, Technology and Business Studies (UTB) and Inspire Management Training Centre of Qatar.

Inspire Management Training Centre is tasked with recruiting international workers for the Middle East country.

"This is something they always do with different countries. We requested them to first start with Rwanda and go to other countries if the number is not enough,” said Zulfat Mukarubega, the founder of UTB.

The five-year agreement also provides internship opportunities for UTB students in various service industries in Qatar.

Mukarubega said that interviews will be conducted in mid-December and the selected ones will head to Qatar in January next year.

She said the arrangement will play a role in addressing youth unemployment, especially in the hospitality sector.

"There are over 6000 graduates and when you look at the number of hotels we have in Rwanda, not all of them can get jobs. In addition, there are even more who are still in school, they will also need jobs,” she pointed out.

The aim, she said, is to prepare the youth to contribute to the country’s development by creating international exposure and improving the standards of work.

She added: "We chose this country because it has a no refugee policy, hence, there won’t be an issue of nationals who go to foreign countries and don’t come back to develop their own countries.”

"Internees will come back after the internship period, and workers will have an option to renew their employment contract or come back.”

It is known that Africans suffer an ordeal of human trafficking to the Asian countries, however, Mukarubega said that this is a major point of concern they have considered.

James Kamanzi, a graduate in Travel and Tourism Management,  said that it is an opportunity he intends to use to the maximum, to acquire hands-on skills on top of financial development.

"This will also be an added value to our country’s hospitality sector because it will now have workers who are equipped with international experience,” he added.

Diana Umwali, a graduate in Hotel and Restaurant Management, said that she is going to represent her fellow female graduates and come back to share with them the experience and challenges.

"This will be an opportunity to expose our potential as Rwandans, and also contribute to the development of our local industry,” she said.

Mukarubega assured that successful Rwandans will have maximum security as the Rwandan Embassy Qatar will be keenly following up on them.