The Rwanda TVET Board (RTB) is developing a curriculum for boat-building courses to address a shortage of professionals in the marine industry, officials announced.
Solange Uwamahoro, Head of Department Training Management at RTB, said the initiative is underway, with efforts to secure resources for infrastructure and curriculum development already begun.
Uwamahoro said that Mubuga Technical Secondary School in Karongi District will offer the new courses.
The move follows calls from marine industry businesspeople for a dedicated shipbuilding school to combat unprofessionalism in the sector. Eng. Alain Munyaburanga, Managing Director of Afrinest Engineering, Rwanda’s sole local shipbuilding company, emphasized the challenge posed by the lack of trained professionals.
“Boat building is a relatively new sector in Rwanda,” Munyaburanga said. “We face difficulties due to the absence of trained personnel in boating-related fields. Even welders struggle with boat construction because they lack specialized training. We need a shipbuilding school to address this gap.”
Currently, Afrinest Engineering employs engineers from Bangladesh, Egypt, and South Africa, in addition to a few local workers with backgrounds in mechanical, electrical, and welding courses.
Steven Sabiti, Executive Secretary of the Institution of Engineers Rwanda, agreed that establishing boat-building skills is crucial. He noted that while boat building could be taught to those with backgrounds in transportation engineering, mechanical engineering, or marine engineering, the institution currently only has mechanical and transportation engineers.
“Companies should invest in training engineers for boat building. We can identify a pool of professionals and collaborate with companies to ensure they acquire these skills,” Sabiti said.
The institution has over 3,000 engineering professionals, including engineers, engineering technologists, and technicians.
