The International Labour Organization (#ILO), Uganda's Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development (MGLSD) and Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA) together implemented a hotel management training programme benefitting young persons from host and refugee communities in Uganda.

 
ILO’s support to MGLSD has been instrumental in guiding government on the development of a National Apprenticeship Framework that stipulates how apprenticeship programs should be designed and implemented. Together with social partners, ILO has also supported partners to design apprenticeship curriculum in four trades in the hotel sector as well as workplace supervisors manuals to guide workplace mentorship of apprentices.

On completion of classroom training at Uganda Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (UHTTI) in Jinja and the apprenticeship programme with selected leading hotels in the country, the trainees have been able to find full time employment in the hotel industry.

The hard work and skills demonstrated by the trainees and cooperation and coordination between the ILO partners have led to the success of the programme, helping youth to unlock their talent and potential. The refugee youth, who otherwise struggle to find skill development and employment opportunities, thanked the ILO and the Government of the Netherlands for development of this unique programme.

In this video, Mwenge Wambuyu Benjamin, one of the refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo, shares his experience in this video. Benjamin has completed his classroom training at UHTTI and workplace training at Fairway Hotel in Kampala where he has been retained and recently promoted to the position of Assistant Guest Relations Manager.