Bank of Uganda Governor, Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego has called for investment in skills development to boost Uganda’s remittance earnings and strengthen the country’s role in the global labour market.
Speaking at the Annual Bankers Conference 2025 in Kampala on Tuesday, Atingi-Ego highlighted the need to prioritize quality education and vocational training to produce a competitive and resilient workforce.
“To fully maximize our remittance potential, we must recognize that quality and protection are inseparable pillars of sustainable labor migration,” he said.
“This means that we have to focus and deliberately invest strategically in education and vocational training centers to ensure that our workers are not merely participants, but formidable competitors in the global market,” he added.
His remarks underscore a growing view among policymakers and development experts that skills development is central to national economic transformation. As Uganda seeks to harness the demographic dividend from its youthful population, equipping citizens with relevant and globally competitive skills is very essential.
In an increasingly competitive global environment, Uganda’s workforce competes with standardized, highly skilled labor exports from the Asian countries that have set benchmarks in the workforce caliber of their citizens working abroad.
Most of Uganda’s migrant workers are either in the household sector working as housekeepers or in the security sector.
“But if you look at the growing sectors in the Middle East, for example, there is a high demand for construction workers. So, how can we scale up our labor in terms of the construction area? We can transform our labor exports into beacons of excellence, ensuring that every Ugandan worker serves as an ambassador of skill, resilience and quality,” the Governor said.
Remittances from Ugandans working abroad have significantly contributed to Uganda’s economy. They are financially supporting many households in Uganda.
In 2023 alone, remittance inflows to Uganda were reported at a staggering USD 1.4 billion, accounting for about 3% of Uganda’s GDP.
Experts say that these figures could significantly rise if more Ugandan workers abroad possessed specialized and certified vocational skills.
Skilled labor not only commands higher wages internationally but also increases employment stability, job mobility, and resilience in volatile labor markets.
Countries that export skilled labour have reaped substantial benefits.
Uganda’s TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training) policy already outlines a pathway toward producing a skills-based workforce.
According to Assistant Commissioner – TVET in the Ministry of Education and Sports, Dr. Eddy Turyatemba, the Policy champions practical training more than theory.
“The TVET Policy (2019) emphasizes competence-based training as the foundation for skills development in Uganda. This policy has led to real-life, hands-on projects being implemented across institutions. It requires institutions to train 70% practical and 30% theory – marking a shift from traditional classrooms to skills-oriented workshops,” Dr Turyatemba said.
Investing in skills development has profound implications for national development. When more young people gain access to quality training and certification, it reduces inequality, boosts productivity, and drives innovation across sectors. Furthermore, skilled Ugandan migrants can play a critical role in knowledge transfer, diaspora investment, and technological exchange – key drivers of long-term development.
Maximizing remittances goes beyond counting inflows – it requires building a human capital base that the world demands.
Skills development and employment experts say that skills are not a luxury but a necessity if Uganda is to transition from exporting low-wage labor to high-value human capital that uplifts families, boosts the economy, and enhances the country’s global standing.
With investment in skills development especially among young people, experts say that Uganda can turn labor migration into a pillar of development.
