Your Excellency, President Yower K Museveni,

Honorable Ministers,

Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

It’s great to be here your Excellency. And for such a good reason: Uganda has led innovations since
the time you liberated it in the 1980’s. Your Excellency, your personal presence here demonstrates
the priority that you place on the role of technical education and skilling in the economic
transformation of Uganda. Let me use this opportunity to congratulate you on your election as the
President of Uganda, we indeed deserves Patriotic leaders like you. The confidence reposed in your
leadership derives from your astuteness in guiding the political and socio-economic development
and stability of our country.

Your Excellency, I am very pleased that the reason I am standing before you here resonates with the
SDG 4. Goal 4 is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. As
you may be aware, on 25 September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development and identified 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as the plan for
action to end poverty, protect the planet’s biosphere and ensure prosperity for all.

Today, the world has the largest youth cohort in history. Whether this translates into the largest
development dividend or the largest development challenge in history will much depend on how this
cohort of youth is educated and skilled for the changing world of work. This is why the SDG 4 is so
important.

Sir, quality education and training can only be achieved if we take conscious and deliberate steps to
bring it about. This is why one of the major departments within the ministry is the Standards,
Curriculum Development and Enforcement which is mandated to ensure there is quality in TVET
delivery.

Uganda has a youthful population. With the right technical and vocational education and training,
coupled with national strategies and policies that provide the right environment for the creation of
employment opportunities, and that’s the main reason Thurisol is here to make sure that it
implements this and skills a number of people preparing them for employment in the various skills
training conducted at our institution.
Finally, let me say that as THURISOL INTER TECH, we are super excited and deeply committed to the
establishment of technical education in the country.

Africa must not miss out on the opportunities offered by the skilling industry.

Let’s rebuild skills.

Let’s revamp skilling institutions.

Let’s reorient and reengineer our universities and learning systems to prepare people for the jobs of
the future, not the jobs of the past.

Let’s promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship, not a culture of consumption.

Let’s make Africa a buzzing hub for skilling, for anything less will be a disservice to our peoples and
the next generation.

Let’s plan and think BIG. Africa is waiting and Africa is ready.

Thank you very much!