Agriculture training in farm institutes and the labour market requirements in uganda.

Abstract

Agriculture training is intended to prepare trainees to meet the agriculture labour market requirements. In Uganda training is done at farm institutes, college and university levels. This study assessed Agriculture Training in Government Farm institutes and whether the training meets the Labour market requirements in Agricultural sector of Uganda. The agricultural training methods used in farm institutes were identified; the training methods employed and how they prepared trainees to meet the labour market requirements were determined. The attitude of agriculture trainees and graduates from farm institutes towards their trade were established. A descriptive study design was used employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches. Farm institute graduates, trainees, instructors and institute administrators were used for the study. Interviews, observation and document analysis were used to collect. Snow ball, systematic and stratified random sampling techniques were used to select the respondents. Findings indicated that the lecture method was dominant over practical methods and had limited consideration for agriculture labour market. As a result, trainees and graduates were not equipped with the skills and attitudes needed in Labour market to a large extent which led graduates to face challenges on their first time of employment during practical tasks. Hence there is need for instructors to train professionally and renew their teaching methods so as to make teaching more practical and use appropriate teaching methods that can enrich the trainees with hands on experience. In addition, farm institutes' laboratories need to be well resourced and curriculum made flexible to include contemporary and emerging issues from time to time. Farm institutes' graduates' who retrained had more positive attitudes' towards manual work and remained in the trade. Therefore Uganda Government through the Ministries of Education and Sports and the Ministry of Agriculture Animal Industry and Fisheries should put more emphasis on practical training if positive attitudes are to be developed in the citizenry.