For Kitiniisa Winifred, standing confidently behind the reception desk at Fairway Hotel is the fulfilment of a dream that, not long ago, seemed beyond her reach.

Raised by a single mother, Winifred completed Senior Four with ambition and a clear interest in hospitality, but without the professional skills and experience she needed to enter the job market. She knew she wanted to build a career in the sector, but she was uncertain about how to turn that ambition into employment.

“When I got this opportunity, I was excited because I really loved the idea of working in the hospitality sector,” she says.

The opportunity came through the hospitality apprenticeship training programme, which enabled Winifred to access practical training and hands-on workplace experience in the hospitality industry. Six months later, her journey looks very different. Today, Winifred is employed as a receptionist at Fairway Hotel, where she puts the skills she acquired during her apprenticeship into practice every day.

“Before the training, this was something I did not think I would manage, but now I am good at the front desk, and I am a professional at receiving guests,” she says.

Winifred credits the encouragement she received from her trainers and family with helping her make the transition from a young person with an ambition to a hospitality professional. Her training at Be Better Academy went beyond the technical skills required to work in a hotel. She developed customer care and communication skills; confidence and the professional attitude needed to work with guests and perform effectively in a hospitality environment.

The combination of classroom learning and practical workplace experience gave Winifred an opportunity to apply what she had learned in a real working environment. It also helped prepare her for the expectations of employers and ultimately supported her transition into formal employment.

For many young people in Uganda, completing school does not automatically translate into employment. Limited access to practical, market-relevant skills and workplace experience can make the transition from education to employment particularly challenging.

Through the Decent Work and Social Protection Project, young people like Winifred are being supported to acquire practical and market-relevant skills through the National Apprenticeship Framework. The project works with training and industry partners, including the Uganda Hotel Owners Association (UHOA), Millennium Business School (MBS), Be Better Academy (BBA), and Hotel and Tourism Training College (HTTC), to provide apprentices with training and hands-on workplace experience in the tourism and hospitality sector.

So far, 472 apprentices have completed their training and workplace placements and graduated from the programme. Of these, 296 have already secured jobs in formal employment.

The collaboration between training institutions and the hospitality industry helps ensure that apprentices develop skills that respond to the needs of employers. The training places particular emphasis on technical competence, workplace readiness and the professional skills young people need to improve their chances of finding and retaining employment.

The impact of this approach can be seen in Winifred’s journey from completing Senior Four with an ambition to work in hospitality to now having the practical skills, workplace experience and a foundation on which to continue building her career in Uganda’s growing hospitality sector.