UREA aspires to promote quality education and skills development for decent and gainful employment. According to the Uganda National Development Plan 2014/2015 to 2019/2020, While the education sector has made considerable progress especially in increasing access to education at all levels, a number of outstanding issues still need to be addressed, key of which are; lack of Early Childhood Development programmes and policy direction, low quality of education at all levels, low completion rate at primary and high dropout rate especially among girls. In addition, the education system does not facilitate adequate skills acquisition especially at post primary levels

The skills development sub-sector is responsible for provision of employable skills that are critical for socioeconomic transformation of the country. The Ministry of Education, Sports, Science and Technology through its BTVET function and the Directorate of Industrial Training (DIT) provides policy direction, sets skills development standards, coordinates, monitors and regulates curriculum development, licenses training institutions, and provides certification and accreditation. The private sector, Faith Based Organizations and CSOs are closely involved in the delivery of skills.  Development Partners are key stakeholders in providing financial and technical support.

The pressing challenges faced in this area include: inadequate skills mix to support increased production and expansion; poor work readiness of many young people leaving formal secondary and tertiary education and entering the labour market for the first time; inadequate linkages between institutional (employers) and workplace learning; lack of basic numeracy, literacy, and entry-level skills and  work-based training; continuing skills shortages in the artisanal, technical and professional fields that are fundamental to the development and growth of our economy;  lack of synergy between the various post-school sub-systems; lack of clarity in relation to the role expected of the various parts of the skills development system; inefficiency and waste; the silo mentality which prevents the partnerships and alignments needed to improve effectiveness; and the absence of coherent strategies within economic and industrial sectors, compounded by the lack of systematic skills development to support and sustain growth and development.

UREA looks forward to make contributions in the Education and Skills development sphere by way of the following;

First, increase equitable access to appropriate skills training at all levels by promoting establishment of skills development institutions/Apprenticeship centres through Private Public Partnerships, support non-formal skills providers, develop positive perceptions; mindset change and attitude; work ethics; and cultural values and norms towards hands-on training, and Increase entrepreneurship skills development for women and mentoring of girls.

Secondly, improve quality and relevance of skills development by Strengthening delivery of competencies for the workplace, higher education and lifelong skills.

Thirdly, enhance efficiency and effectiveness in skills delivery by developing a strategy to identify and nurture talent development for in and out of school youth, and promote establishment of research, innovation and technology incubation centres.

Therefore, UREA focuses on promotion of broadly three types of skills: Cognitive skills, Socio-emotional skills, and Technical skills.