Overview:
NITA-U has launched free online tech training for youth, targeting 50,000 certified ICT professionals by 2031 and 200,000 by 2035.
KAMPALA — Young Ugandans can now access free online training in some of the most sought-after technology fields, part of a government drive to turn the country’s large pool of graduates into a workforce that employers are willing to hire.
The tuition runs from June 2026 to March 2027 and covers artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, data analytics and related areas, taught online by practising chief information officers and senior ICT professionals rather than classroom lecturers. So far, more than 80 students drawn from 15 universities have completed a session on cybersecurity fundamentals, and those who finish the training are certified against internationally recognised standards before being placed on a national register of tech talent.
The training is the front end of the National Tech Skills Talent Programme, a 10-year effort run by the National Information Technology Authority (NITA-U) to build a home-grown IT workforce, reduce the country’s reliance on expatriate ICT specialists, and open routes into the digital economy for young people, women and rural communities. Uganda produces an estimated 700,000 graduates a year, yet many technology roles stay vacant because those leaving university often lack the practical skills firms need — the gap the programme is meant to close.
NITA-U says the initiative falls under Vision 2040, the Fourth National Development Plan and Uganda’s Digital Transformation Roadmap, and is designed to train and certify 50,000 ICT professionals by 2031, rising to 200,000 by 2035, as the country positions itself as a leading digital outsourcing destination on the continent.
The director of e-government services at NITA-U, Julian Rweju, said the shortage of digitally skilled workers remains one of the country’s pressing challenges, and questioned why Uganda still leans on foreign experts to solve problems its own young people could handle. She said the register at the heart of the programme will profile skilled graduates so companies can see who is available and what each can do, and then match them to jobs. “We want to build a talent registry so that we know all the skilled young people in the country, and also place them where they can be employed,” Rweju said.
Rweju said the longer-term aim is to equip local talent to develop competitive technologies and build solutions that sustain the country’s existing platforms, cutting dependence on foreign-made products. She was speaking at a high-level meeting on the programme held at NITA-U’s head offices in Kampala.
The executive secretary of the CIO-CXO Digital Leadership Forum, Gideon Nkurunungi, said the programme now runs in more than 15 public and private universities and has reached over 1,000 students, with a target of 200,000 within two years. He said it is meant to narrow the long-standing gap between what universities teach and what industry needs, so graduates leave with skills that match the job market.
Beyond the current intake, NITA-U has said it plans a national hackathon for participating students later this year and intends to extend the programme to technical and vocational (TVET) institutions, starting in northern Uganda.