Enid, a graduate from the Professional Driver Training Uganda Project Phase Two (PDTU-2)

Enid is one of over 80 female drivers that trained as part of the PDTU-2 project. She is married with four children and worked as a schoolteacher until April 2022. Enid has always admired trucks and particularly the professional female drivers that she would rarely see on the road.

“My opportunity to become a truck driver came during the COVID-19 pandemic. The school I worked at was closed, and I saw an advert for SWRW promoting training for professional female drivers. This was an unmissable opportunity.”

Following her acceptance, Enid completed the theory lessons remotely. For the practical lessons, she travelled to Hoima, in Western Uganda, to train with rigid trucks. Rigid trucks have fixed trailers and cabs, which make the driving experience similar to that of a regular car. Enid’s interest was in driving semi-trailers, which have flexibility between the trailer and the cab.

After completing the semi-trailer training, Enid returned for the Inspectorate of Vehicles test and received a permit for Class CE.

Enid was offered a job as a professional driver for a company wanting half of its drivers to be women. She said: “The good thing about professional driving is the adventure. It gives me great pride when people see a lady driving a truck.”

Sadly, Enid had to leave this role after just six months. Her husband worked for the same company as an engineer and experienced negativity from his co-workers about Enid’s profession – an experience that is had too often for women in this sector. She said: “I am positive that I will find another job. Employers have more trust in female drivers to complete the delivery.”

The training provided by SWRW has led Enid to receive interest from many other companies. She said: “During my training, I learnt about the traffic signs, laws, how to handle a heavy load safely, and how to protect other road users. I also had help with CV writing and finding job opportunities. The training created friendships for me with other female drivers.

“Everything I was taught has been beneficial because it is helping me in everyday life, and I will continue to use it in future.

“I have inspired a lot of women. When ladies see me driving a truck in my community, they say ‘what, Enid! You can’t do that’, but now they are all putting in their applications to learn too.

“It is very important that more women enter this profession. Even my daughter tells me she is going to become a professional driver like me when she finishes school.”

The Professional Driver Training Uganda Project Phase Two, which is part of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Employment and Skills for Development in Africa (E4D) programme, aims to upskill drivers to take advantage of employment opportunities, while equipping them with the knowledge to be safer on Uganda’s roads. It was implemented jointly by Transaid and Safe Way Right Way (SWRW) on behalf of GIZ E4D.

With the support of industry partners, Transaid has built the capacity of Master Trainers and Trainers in Uganda, in turn enabling them to train drivers to a level in accordance with the East African Community Standardised Curriculum for drivers of large commercial vehicles.

The PDTU-2 project is helping to respond to the rise in demand for HGV and PSV drivers in Uganda, as well as improbing employment outcomes for women. For women like Enid, they can also pursue a career that they love.

Download Enid’s full story here.