Internships and industrial training in Uganda: how to find a placement and apply

Know which kind of placement you need

Makerere University uses the term field attachment for practical training that its faculties also call internship, school practice, Community Based Education and Services, or industrial training. At Kyambogo University, some programmes have an industrial training, school practice or practicum semester that lasts up to ten weeks, depending on the programme.

The Uganda Public Service Standing Orders list the practical training programmes that government promotes with training institutions: field attachments, internships, industrial training, apprenticeships, academic research and management training. After graduation, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development also runs apprenticeship and graduate volunteer placements.

Start with your institution

Your department sets the timing, the length and the paperwork. Makerere guidelines recommend field attachment at the end of the second semester, lasting at least eight weeks each year, and say the university prepares letters of introduction, logbooks and evaluation forms for students.

Ask your coordinator early for the introduction letter and for any list of partner organisations. In public bodies the letter matters: the Standing Orders say a placement should not last longer than the time stated in the introduction letter from the training institution.

Where to look for a placement

• Government ministries, departments, agencies and local governments. The Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, for example, offers university students two months of internship training each year and says placements are applied for through its Permanent Secretary.
• Public bodies with their own programmes. URA says it offers students temporary placements lasting a few months each year, that the programme is open to all but highly competitive, and that applications go through careers.ura.go.ug.
• Companies, banks, hospitals, schools and NGOs linked to your course. Ask your department which organisations have hosted its students before.
• District and city local governments near your home, which can reduce your transport and accommodation costs.

Apply early and to more than one host, because you cannot count on the first organisation having space.

What to send with your request

Address a short letter to the head of the organisation or the officer named in its notice. State your programme, your year of study and the dates your institution has set, and say which department you would like to join. Attach the introduction letter from your institution, your CV and any other document the host lists, such as a transcript or a copy of your ID.

[Your name]
[Programme, year of study, institution]
[Phone number and email]
[Date]

The [title of officer]
[Organisation and address]

Dear Sir or Madam,

RE: REQUEST FOR INDUSTRIAL TRAINING PLACEMENT

I am a [year] student of [programme] at [institution]. My institution requires industrial training from [start date] to [end date], as stated in the attached introduction letter.

I would like to be attached to your [department], where I hope to learn [specific tasks]. I have attached my CV and the documents listed below.

Yours faithfully,
[Signature and full name]

Graduate placements through the Ministry

After graduation, you can register for the National Apprenticeship Programme or as a graduate volunteer on the Ministry A-MIS portal at agvp.mglsd.go.ug. The Ministry guide asks applicants to register with their NIN, email, full names, phone number, district and location, activate the account through an email link, complete their profile and attach documents such as the ID, CV and academic certificates.

Applicants then check the dashboard for an allocation, attend an interview and accept or reject the offer in the system. Once placed, they submit bank details so that a stipend can be paid. The guide warns that mismatched NIN, email and phone details are the most common cause of delayed approval.

Pay, allowances and costs

Do not assume a placement is paid. For government hosts, the Standing Orders say a trainee, student or apprentice is ordinarily not entitled to any payment from government, although one asked to perform tasks for which an allowance is payable may be considered for payment at the entry level rate of the post. Other hosts set their own terms, so ask before you start.

Pay any fee your university charges only through its official channel. The Kyambogo University handbook, for example, tells students to pay fees to approved banks using reference numbers and never to pay cash to a member of staff or any other person. Never pay an individual who promises to secure a placement for you.

During the placement

• Agree a work plan with your supervisor in the first days. Makerere guidelines expect students to develop day to day work plans with their field supervisors.
• Keep your logbook up to date and ask your supervisor to sign it.
• In a public body, expect to take the official oath and the oath of secrecy, and do not present government records or information as your own ideas.
• Leave a copy of your report where required. The Standing Orders ask students in public bodies to deposit a copy of their report with the ministry, agency or local government that hosted them.
• Before you leave, ask your supervisor whether they will act as a referee.

Your logbook and report become the evidence for your first CV. Write down tasks, tools and results each week while you still remember them.

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