Ukarimu Academy

What is the purpose of regular performance evaluations? 📈

👉 These are to help remind students what their managers expect in the workplace.

👉 It also allows students to provide input and feedback on how they feel about their internship and position within the organization and what the future holds for them.

👉 Finally, it also provides employers with information to use when making employment decisions such as promotions, pay increases, job description changes and selecting the employee of the month.

In June 2022, under the newly established Elgon Tourism Academy, 20 participants were onboarded for the training, and a total of 14 tourism businesses from the districts of Kapchorwa, Mbale, Kotido, and Moroto were represented.

Congratulations to the participants who completed the Ukarimu training and graduated after the assessment. We hope that you will continue to develop and grow in your career! 🥳

One of the graduates, Paul Kipyeko, a site guide with Kapchorwa Safaris, confessed that during the training, felt pushed to go further than he had ever expected. He said that Ukarimu gave him the opportunity to use his potential in tourism, for example, by developing his own tourism products and working hard to sell them profitably.

MT.MOROTO HOTEL
Casa Uganda Safaris & Lodges Ltd
Elgon Trek,Sipi
Noah's Ark Hotel Kapchorwa Sipifalls
Karamoja trails. org
@Soloz Tours Uganda
@Mount Elgon Culture and History Museum
@Noah's Ark Hotel and Safaris
Elgon Safaris Uganda
Elgon Safaris Uganda
Sipi falls tour guiding adventures
@Kapchorwa Safaris
Kara-Tunga, Karamoja Tours
Henry Tours and Safaris
Sipi falls tours
Destination Nomad Africa -DNA
Elgon Safaris Uganda
Karamoja Tourism Academy
Naminya Saleh
Mwesiga Elly
Gloria Tumwesigye
Uganda Tourism Board-UTB
Lokutae Brian King

Hooray! Time to fly and soar to new heights 🦅 We are thrilled to announce our new partnership with Enabel in Uganda to skill the youth in the Karamoja region.

🆘 Knowledge in First Aid has its benefits. Accidents are inevitable, and there is no guarantee that people are safe from any physical injury, illness or trauma. 🆘

The best possible thing that our female site guides can do is to be prepared if any accidents, mishaps, and occurrences happen. 🤕

A trained guide is capable of saving a life and can make a world of difference!

Mt. Elgon & Karamoja region has so much tourism potential. There's cultural tourism, hiking, cycling, running, coffee tourism, abseiling, safaris... 👣

But how do you turn tourism potential into great tourism products? 💼

At our Ukarimu Tourism Product Development training currently underway in Sipi, we help tourism companies develop professional and unique tourism activities!

A special thanks to the Elgon Tourism Academy and Karamoja Tourism Academy for implementing the training with us! 👏

Naminya Saleh
Lokutae Brian King

We proudly announce that Ukarimu Academy and Matoke Tours Africa
Africa are set to induct the second group of Female Tour Guide Trainees.

This program will run from 15th May 2022 until October 2022.

The recruitment process, which consisted of an online application form attracted up to 160 responses from ladies interested in being tour guides.

However, after careful consideration only 15 applicants were selected and successfully enrolled onto the program.

Congratulations to our second group of the Tourism Entrepreneurs training that kicked off in the Central region in the district of Jinja, with a total of 24 training participants.

The training took place over a period of 6 weeks, covering 8 modules, some of which included :

🔸 Product knowledge and development
🔸 Customer segmentation
🔸 Customer service
🔸 Financial management
🔸 Digital marketing
🔸 Communication skills

We were fortunate enough to collaborate with Charlotte from Diary of a muzungu - Uganda & East Africa Travel Blog for this particular training that gave our students an even deeper insight into the digital marketing of tourism.

Bahweza Aggrey, the founder of Greatly Safaris, a tour company said that he learned a lot about financial management, especially how to handle the taxes.

Aggrey also developed a new product, “Tourism Aid”, which is a trust that will reach out to the philanthropists of this world to participate in charities around vulnerable communities in Uganda.

Quad-Biking JINJA
Chakig Eco Tourism Centre
Inter-Tropical Tours and Travel LTD.
Griffin Falls Camp
Friends Nature Safaris - Uganda
Bushbaby Lodge
Makanaga Wetland Conservation Association - MAWECA
Steadfast Safaris
Orogu Tours and Travel Uganda Limited
Bikeventures Uganda: Bicycle Tours and Rentals
Tubing the Nile
Park Shoebill
Twinmart
Kenpol tours
Chocolatesafari
Greytley Safaris
All About Entebbe
Nexxon Tours and Travel Jinja.
Bungee Uganda
Casa Uganda Safaris
Casa Uganda Safaris & Lodges Ltd

In the month of April 2022, the second cohort of hospitality training in the SouthWestern & Kigezi region kicked off with a total of 27 training participants.

The training is scheduled to take place over a period of 6 months including:

🔸 1 month class-based training (theory and practical) following the 18 modules of the Ukarimu curriculum.
🔸 4 months internship placement program across TSC member lodges and hotels.
🔸 1 month closure training including DIT assessment, graduation and an innovation challenge.

The participants of the hospitality training came from a total of 14 districts including; Isingiro, Ibanda, Kisoro, Kasese, Bushenyi, Bunyangabu, Kabarole, Rubanda, Kabale, Kamwenge, Shema, Ntungamo and Mbarara.

Hoima has a very interesting legacy; it is the capital of the once-powerful 19th-century empire of Bunyoro-Kitara.
At the height of its glory, the Kitara Empire included present-day Western Kenya, Northern Tanzania, and Eastern Congo.

Hoima is deeply rooted in the history of Uganda and is known today as the home of Uganda’s most cherished natural resources, oil, and gas.

In the month of April 2022, the second cycle of Hospitality training in the Rwenzori & Bunyoro region kicked off at the state of the art Millennium Business School, with a total of 30 training participants from 8 districts including; Hoima, Masindi, Buliisa, Kampala, Kasese, Kikuube, Kabarole, and Mityana.

We wish all the participants a great and inspiring training! 😃

As we rethink the future there's need to build a resilient tourism economy beyond COVID-19. Do you wish to take part in the recovery process?

Ukarimu, a project implemented by EyeOpenerWorks together with the Uganda Hotel Owners' Association and funded by the E4D program of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH seek to achieve sustainable growth for the businesses in the regional clusters through skills development and tourism and hospitality training.🤝

We have found it valuable to also engage both the trainees and their employers in Business Development Sessions, organized in collaboration with a wide range of industry experts.

These half day workshops focus on different topics like:
👉Sustainability
👉COVID-19 resilience
👉Decent work
👉Gender inclusiveness

By participating, business owners and their staff can develop tangible strategies that will help their business grow!

For more info, check out this link.

In the month of October 2021, the first cohort of Tour Guides training in the Central region kicked off with a total of 14 training participants who were all females.

The training was held over a period of 5 months including;

👉 1 month class-based training (theory and practical) following the 21 modules of the Ukarimu curriculum for tour guides.
👉 3 months internship placement program across cluster - member tourism activity providers.
👉 1 week closure training including DIT assessment and finally , graduation.

The Ukarimu Tour Guides training in collaboration with Matoke Tours was conducted and successfully completed. 👏

Congratulations to these ladies who have reached an important goal through hard work and perseverance. We know you will take your work ethic into your career and have great success!🎉

Who are the trainers of Ukarimu? 🤝

Ukarimu works together with trainers at training institutions. In order to implement the curriculum successfully, the trainers are advised to go through a Training of Trainers, which is organized occasionally.

These trainers are also helped remotely by the Ukarimu developers in implementing the training.

After a couple of years, we noticed that the ideal Ukarimu trainer is a good listener, rather than a talker. A facilitator, rather than an instructor. An experienced tourism professional, rather than an experienced teacher. 😀

Rwenzori Tourism Academy
Gloire Eunice Davina

Ukarimu, a project by EyeOpenerWorks and supported by the Uganda Hotel Owners' Association , Tripesa , Matoke Tours Africa and the E4D program of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH provides practical and relevant training in the Ugandan tourism & hospitality sector.

👉Participate in training that is tailor-made for activity providersent training for the Central region at Victoria Panorama Hotel located in Jinja.

By participating in this program, the students will:

👉Receive high-quality, intensive training from various experts
👉Participate in a training that is tailor-made for activity providers
👉Get help to professionalize your company
👉Get the chance to build a network with like minded professionals

Are you an entrepreneur that offers tourism activities? Would you like to improve your entrepreneurship, product development, guiding and digital marketing skills?

Follow our pages or sign up for our newsletter to get exclusive access to our next trainings!

Home - Ukarimu Academy

We are very excited to launch our new website. We believe it reflects what Ukarimu has become over the past years.

Whether you are a potential student, a trainer or representing a tourism company, the new website explains to you how Ukarimu can be beneficial to you!

In addition, you can download all our open-source training materials from the website as well.

We would like to thank Moonatic Agency and The Brand Factory for their help in developing it.

Please check it out and we would love to hear what you think of it!

Home - Ukarimu Academy Setting the standard for quality tourism and hospitality training Ukarimu is the first open-source curriculum for tourism and hospitality training in Africa I want to Improve my skills! Find out how you can be trained for a great career in tourism & hospitality. Students I want to Have my staff trai...

After 6 months of intensive training, 25 students passed the DIT assessment and graduated from the Elgon Tourism Academy and Karamoja Tourism Academy

As the Ukarimu team, we would like to congratulate all our graduates and wish them all the best in building a great career in tourism and hospitality!

A special thanks also go to our facilitators and coordinators,
Naminya Saleh and Lokutae Brian King for their hard work and dedication to skilling young people for the rapidly growing tourism sector in Eastern Uganda 💪

Mt Elgon Hotel, Mbale, Uganda
Noah's Ark Hotel Kapchorwa Sipifalls
Nature Lodges
Rocy_Hotel
Pian Upe Wildlife Reserve
Home of Friends Guesthouse
Sipi Falls Lodge
Timisha Hotel Soroti Ltd
Casa Uganda Safaris & Lodges Ltd
Apoka Safari Lodge
Kara-Tunga, Karamoja Safari Camp

Ukarimu Tourism Product Development Training - Jinja

Are you an entrepreneur that offers tourism activities? Would you like to improve your entrepreneurial, product development, guiding and digital marketing skills? Here is your chance 😀

We are joining hands with Tripesa , Diary of a muzungu - Uganda & East Africa Travel Blog , and Adventure Tourism Uganda to train tourism companies in Jinja and beyond!

Apply today by filling in the form below 👇

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScdHS1C89v_apsx40yNbEnZisicOc_11nGcK9EZ3Od0Wi8fFQ/viewform

Ukarimu Tourism Product Development Training - Jinja Ukarimu, Tripesa, Diary of a Muzungu and Adventure Tourism Uganda are joining hands to train the tourism companies in Jinja and beyond! Are you an entrepreneur that offers tourism activities? Would you like to improve your entrepreneurship, product development, guiding and digital marketing skills?....

Each place harbours its own stories and secrets, which can not be discovered on your own. 🧐

It is worth booking a guided tour, where local tour guides can entertain you with intriguing stories that will shed new light on the town.

Happy International Tourist Guide Day 🥳

Uganda Tourism Association - UTA

🎉Happy International Tourist Guide Day!

It is thanks to these professionals that tourism is a fundamental force of understanding, diversity and knowledge.

🙌Hands up for these tourism heroes! Thank you!

World Federation of Tourist Guide Associations. (WFTGA)

To Our Dear Female Tour guides,
We appreciate your involvement and thank you for sharing your valuable time for the training. We are sure that by participating, you have gained useful knowledge and new innovative ideas that you can't wait to share with the world! ❤️

An update on our Female Tour Guide trainees!

After an intense theoretical and practical guide training, the Female Tour Guides to-be are now gaining experience in the field. They are on mentored internships with Matoke Tours and various other tour operators within Uganda who support our program, joining seasoned tour guides on tours to learn from the best and interact with travelers.

The internships will end next month, whereafter the trainees shall complete their training. After the training the women will have all the needed tools to further develop their skills as tour guides, as a kick-start for their careers.

Congratulations to our trainees for the just-concluded second phase of training. After 3 months of internship, we are excited to see what comes next for you! 👏

Exchange programs will get the trainees out of their comfort zone so they not only experience enhanced learning but also personal growth.

What is the relevance of exposure trips during the training of female tour guides?

Exposure trips are one of the best tools that we have used to provide female tour guides with real-world experiences. Each experience that a guide participates in contributes to her understanding of the world.

They begin to see that what they learnt during the classroom training can help them solve the problems they see in the world around them and can have a direct impact on who they become as guides.

Additionally, this shared social experience provides the opportunity for the guides to get familiar with the tourist attractions, routes and how to interpret the meanings of different attractions in an authentic setting.