Graduation marks the end of formal study, but not the end of learning. Much of what eventually makes someone effective at work is picked up after entering the workplace for instance; solving unfamiliar problems, working with colleagues, adapting to new technology, dealing with clients and learning how an organisation actually operates.

World Bank analysis published in September 2026 estimates that roughly half of the human capital people build over their working lives comes through experience on the job. Yet workplace learning receives far less attention in education and skills policy than schools, universities and formal training programmes.

The argument is backed by evidence showing that what happens inside a workplace can have measurable effects on performance.

The World Bank uses such findings to make a broader point that employment can also be part of the education process. That distinction matters in countries where many young people enter jobs that offer little room to build new skills. Around 70 per cent of workers in low- and middle-income countries are concentrated in small-scale agriculture, low-quality self-employment or very small firms. These jobs may provide income, but they do not always expose workers to new technologies, stronger management practices or experienced colleagues from whom they can learn.

Uganda is included among the countries whose labour-market programmes have been studied in this wider body of evidence. Research cited by the World Bank shows that programmes helping young people enter employment and gain practical experience can improve both skills and earnings.

Universities often assess the transition from study to work by looking at whether students secure internships and whether graduates find employment. The World Bank findings suggest that another part of that transition deserves attention. What graduates learn once they enter the workplace can continue shaping their skills long after they leave university.

Busitema University already places students and graduates in environments where that question can be studied more closely. Internship and work-placement programmes expose students to workplaces before graduation, while graduate tracer studies and employer surveys offer another way of seeing how university training holds up once graduates enter employment.

The University has also previously participated in the Work Readiness Program implemented with the Private Sector Foundation Uganda and Enabel, which placed graduates in workplaces across sectors including agro-processing, construction, tourism and ICT. The programme was designed to give graduates practical exposure to the workplace while helping them develop the skills and confidence needed to move more effectively into employment.

Evidence now emerging internationally suggests that the quality of those workplace experiences deserves as much attention as the placement itself.

That presents a useful area of study at Busitema University. Researchers could examine how graduates' skills change during the first years of employment, which kinds of workplace supervision support stronger learning, and whether some placement environments expose students to more meaningful responsibilities than others. Graduate tracer studies, employer surveys and internship evaluations could also help identify which skills develop quickly after recruitment and which gaps remain over time.

This kind of research could involve education, business, engineering, computing and other disciplines where students move directly from academic training into professional practice. It could also give academic programmes stronger evidence on what should be developed before graduation and what is better strengthened through workplace experience.

The World Bank's argument ultimately challenges a familiar assumption about employability. A degree may open the door to work, but what happens after someone walks through that door can shape just as much of the worker they eventually become.

Read the full World Bank article behind the newsletter feature Why Governments Are Overlooking the Workplace as a Classroom.