Ambassador Nicola Bellomo, Minister Valentine Uwamariya and the Executive Director of Gasabo at Gacuriro TVET School
The European Union(EU) and Rwanda’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning through the Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) signed a Rwf 5.7 billion grant agreement to promote and improve labour market oriented training in the tourism and hospitality sector in Rwanda under a project dubbed “Ubukerarugendo Imbere Project”.
The Ubukerarugendo Imbere Project will promote a systemic, holistic, and sustainable approach that will help address current gaps in the Tourism and Hospitality (T&H) sector, in particular the lack of skills.
The project will improve the institutional and managerial capacity of TVET providers in the T&H, enhance quality and relevance of training and vocational training, promote training in the workplace and provide professional and business support to T&H graduates in Rwanda.
“The Ubukerarugendo imbere project is another demonstration of how the EU supports Rwandan youth – to acquire skills and find jobs – and the private sector, to improve its hospitality offer and make its tourism products more attractive. The project will work holistically with business, TVET providers and graduates in order to strengthen the T&H sector, which – as we all know – faces particular challenges due to the pandemic. Investing in young people and upgrading the training offer will contribute to more productive businesses, and an even more unforgettable experience for tourists in Rwanda.” said Ambassador Nicola Bellomo, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Rwanda.
The Ubukeraugendo Imbere project will be implemented by the Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) in collaboration with Rwanda Polytechnic (RP), the Rwanda’s Tourism chamber and several other players in the TVET structure in Rwanda.
Officials from EU delegation and ministry of education with TVET staff
Dr. UWAMARIYA Valentine, Honorable Minister of Education
“The grant will profoundly contribute to Rwanda’s National Strategy for Transformation (NST1) objective of creating 214,000 off-farm jobs per year, by equipping our youth with employable skills in Hospitality and Tourism sector, what will definitely position our country as a world class and high-end destination’’.
This four-year project will focus on forging a dynamic connection between TVET schools and the Tourism and Hospitality industry in Rwanda.
The programme is designed to directly respond to Rwanda’s urgent need to put its young labour market entrants into productive employment to sustain and accelerate economic growth.
Background
This project is financed from the EU’s programme to support private sector development and job creation in Rwanda adopted in 2020. It is complementary to the Hanga Hubs project implemented by Rwanda Information Society Authority (RISA) that aims to increase digital-based employment opportunities in high economic potential sectors through technology enabled innovation incubation hubs in secondary cities. The project will further benefit from forthcoming EU support to Rwanda Development Board promoting investment in key economic sectors in Rwanda including the tourism and hospitality with. (End)