WBG Pioneer -TVET and Skills Development Intern

Description

WBG Pioneers, the World Bank Group’s Internship Program, offers undergraduate and postgraduate students a high impact learning experience at the heart of global development. Participants gain hands on experience in a diverse and dynamic environment, contribute fresh perspectives and innovative ideas, and connect with international professionals working to end poverty on a livable planet.

The World Bank Education Global Practice supports the Government of Uganda through investment operations, technical assistance, and analytical work aimed at improving learning outcomes, strengthening education system performance, expanding access to quality education, and enhancing skills development opportunities for youth. Key operations include the Uganda Learning Acceleration Program (ULEARN), the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion Project (USEEP), and the Uganda Skills Development for Refugees and Host Communities Project (USDRH), which support foundational learning, secondary education, workforce readiness, and inclusion of vulnerable populations, including refugees and host communities.

Uganda is currently updating its skilling framework to align with the TVET Act 2025 and the TVET Policy of 2019. A new TVET Council has been established to regulate the system and steer reforms toward a more demand-driven and private sector-led model. The Council is expected to support sector-based employer engagement mechanisms, referred to in Uganda as Sector Skills Expert Committees, while assessment will be overseen by TVET assessment boards and implementation will remain under the Ministry of Education and Sports.

The system remains nascent, and stakeholders are still developing a shared understanding of the new institutional arrangements, financing mechanisms, and operational responsibilities. The proposed financing model is expected to include employer levies and income generated by TVET providers through skilling with production. At the same time, the Government is proposing a new Skills for Jobs program that would strengthen the demand side of skills development by bringing together the Ministry of Education and Sports, the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, and employers. The program would pilot approaches to translate skills into jobs while addressing the persistently weak public perception of the TVET sector.

To support preparation of the Skills for Jobs program and ongoing analytical and operational activities, the team seeks an intern to contribute to work related to skills development and TVET. The intern will support analytical, research, and knowledge-generation activities informing the design and implementation of skills development interventions in Uganda, including digital and hybrid learning, workforce development, and skills training for refugees and host communities. The intern will also contribute to analytical outputs, communication products, knowledge-sharing materials, and selected operational activities linked to ongoing World Bank engagements in the skills sector.

The selected candidate will provide analytical, research, coordination, and knowledge support to the World Bank team in Uganda, with a particular focus on preparation of the proposed Skills for Jobs operation and related activities. The assignment is intended for an early-career professional with a strong interest in education, TVET, workforce development, and international development, and demonstrated ability to support analytics, presentations, visual materials, and day-to-day coordination of team deliverables.

Duties and Responsibilities

Support preparation and implementation of the Uganda Skills for Jobs operation through background research and desk reviews on TVET, skills development, labor market relevance, and international experience; synthesis of project, sector, and analytical materials; preparation of presentations, briefing notes, concept inputs, and communication products; development of simple data visualizations and infographics; coordination of meetings, consultations, and stakeholder engagement; documentation of discussions, action tracking, and knowledge management; and provision of operational, research, and analytical support to the task team.

Expected outputs: background research notes and literature summaries; presentations, infographics, and briefing materials; organized repositories of reference documents; meeting notes and action-tracking matrices; and contributions to concept, analytical, and communication products supporting Skills for Jobs preparation.

Selection Criteria

Master’s degree in education, economics, public policy, international development, statistics, social sciences, communications, or a related field. Prior internship, research, volunteer, or other relevant experience is desirable but not required. A strong interest in skills development, TVET, education, youth employment, and development work in Africa is essential. The candidate should demonstrate strong analytical, organizational, and communication skills, with excellent written and spoken English and the ability to synthesize information clearly and concisely. Proficiency in Microsoft PowerPoint and Excel is required. Experience preparing charts, tables, infographics, and presentation materials is highly desirable. Familiarity with Canva, Power BI, Stata, R, or similar analytical and visualization tools is an advantage. The candidate should be proactive, detail-oriented, responsive, and able to work effectively in a team environment.

Note: Please limit your applications to a maximum of three positions. Applications exceeding this limit will not be considered.

WBG Culture Attributes:
1. Sense of urgency: Anticipate and quickly respond to the needs of internal and external stakeholders.
2. Thoughtful risk-taking: Challenge the status quo and push boundaries to achieve greater impact.
3. Empowerment and accountability: Empower yourself and others to act and hold each other accountable for results.

The World Bank Group values diversity and encourages all qualified candidates who are nationals of World Bank Group member countries to apply, regardless of gender, gender identity, religion, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability.  Sub-Saharan African nationals, Caribbean nationals, and female candidates are strongly encouraged to apply.