The Professional Driver Training – Uganda project

The Professional Driver Training – Uganda project (PDTU) aims to build the capacity of heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and passenger service vehicle (PSV) driver training in Uganda in cooperation with industry partners. This enhanced capacity will increase employment of Ugandan drivers in the transport sector and improve road safety in Uganda.
The project is implemented by GIZ E4D/SOGA – Employment and Skills for Eastern Africa, Safe Way Right Way and Transaid with support from industry partners, and in partnership with the Ugandan Government. It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).

The project will build the skills of at least 12 local trainers who in turn will be able to train drivers to a level in accordance with the East African Community standardised curriculum for drivers of large commercial vehicles. In addition, a new training facility will be established to offer HGV and PSV driver and trainer training. Three existing local driving schools will also be offered support to strengthen and maintain the quality of their training and improve access to training vehicles. At least 800 new and existing HGV and PSV drivers will be trained as part of the programme which will contribute to raising driving standards amongst local drivers. This will in turn enhance their employability within the sector that anticipates a growing demand for skilled and knowledgeable workforce in years to come.

The PDTU project was officially launched on 6th of July 2017 by the Hon. Aggrey Henry Bagiire Ugandan Minister of State for Transport, in the presence of a number of distinguished guests. The event offered an opportunity to showcase the skills acquired by some of the driver trainers, trained under the first cohort. It was also an opportunity for the Minister to officially acknowledge the adoption of the EAC standardised curriculum as the approved training curriculum for this course.

Transaid has been building the capacity of the transport and logistics sector across the East Africa since 2008. The PDTU will benefit from the experience that the organisation has gained through collaboration with training institutions in Zambia and Tanzania as well as from training initiatives delivered previously in Uganda and Malawi. Transaid has also worked with government road safety bodies to develop national driver training standards and curricula, including the EAC standardised curriculum for drivers of large commercial vehicles.