Vivo Energy Uganda has launched two mobile training units that will take skills development directly to Shell service stations and independent mechanics across the country, in a move aimed at improving service consistency, operational efficiency and the company’s competitive position in fuel retail and lubricants.
The mobile classrooms, launched at Shell Lugogo, will support training for more than 2,000 employees across over 200 Shell service stations, while a separate Shell Lubricants mobile unit will take technical training to hundreds of independent mechanics.
The initiative marks a shift from Vivo Energy’s previous reliance on centralised training facilities, with the company seeking to reduce the time and operational disruption associated with taking workers away from their stations for training.
Alex Tusingiwire, Vivo Energy Uganda’s Retail Manager, said the mobile units would allow the company to reach its dispersed workforce faster while could have a greater impact because employees would learn using the equipment and systems they encounter in their daily operations providing training in the environment where employees perform their jobs.
“With these machines, operationally, we’re going to be able to reach quicker our 201 fuel stations and in excess of 2,000 staff that work at these stations. It means more accessibility, more convenience, but also more practical training for the people that operate these fuel stations.”
The training will cover customer service, health and safety, forecourt efficiency, product knowledge and other operational capabilities.
Tusingiwire said practical, workplace-based training could have a greater impact because employees would learn using the equipment and systems they encounter in their daily operations.
“There’s no better training than the training that happens on the ground with the equipment that the staff use, in the environment that they are accustomed to. Our people will have the opportunity to scale up on things like health and safety, which is our licence to operate, customer service, which is extremely critical for us because the customer is why we exist, and forecourt efficiency and product knowledge.”
The company is also targeting independent mechanics, a commercially important group because of their influence over motorists’ decisions on vehicle maintenance and lubricants.
Francis Kayoki, Vivo Energy Uganda’s Lubricants Manager, said the Shell Workshop Action Team (SWAT) mobile unit would allow the company to reach mechanics at their workshops instead of requiring them to travel to training venues.
“Mechanics are our trusted advisors. You can call them doctors. Whatever they recommend to our consumers is what they’ll put into their vehicles, and ultimately they directly impact vehicle performance, reliability and longevity as well as the customer experience at our sites and in the trade.”
The company said the mobile approach could to come to our venues so that we can conduct the trainings, but as you can see we shall now be reaching out to the mechanics directly. What that means for the mechanic is they also reduce the income mechanics lose when they leave their workshops to attend training.
“Previously we were inviting our mechanics to come to our venues so that we can conduct the trainings, but as you can see we shall now be reaching out to the mechanics directly. What that means for the mechanic is they are saving on time instead of losing that income by travelling to our different locations to conduct the trainings.”
The mechanics’ training will focus on technical product expertise, lubrication technology and vehicle diagnostics.
The strategy could strengthen Vivo Energy’s relationship with mechanics who influence motorists’ choices of lubricants and other vehicle-care products.
Alinafe Mkavea, Vivo Energy Uganda’s Chief Commercial Officer, said the investment was intended to ensure that customers receive a consistent level of service regardless of these training vans.
“From a commercial perspective, consistency is everything. Whether a customer drives into a Shell station in Kampala, Gulu or Mbarara, the standard of service must be impeccably high and consistent.”
Mkavea said the mobile units would standardise training for station managers, attendants, quality marshals and other frontline workers.
“With these training vans, we want to assure our customers that when you go into any Shell service station, the quality of customer service is going to be the same because they’ll be trained by the same team and there will be consistent training that we are going to deliver across the country.”
For Vivo Energy Uganda Managing Director Joanita Mukasa Menya, the mobile model is also about protecting business continuity.
She said removing large numbers of staff from service stations for training could disrupt operations and affect customers.
“Imagine if we have to close our operations because we have taken the team out from the service stations and we’ve taken them to stand in for training. It will disrupt our service and it will not be good for our customer experience. What we are trying to do with these mobile units is take the training on the ground.”
Menya said the company expects the programme to improve customer experience while allowing employees to learn without interrupting normal operations.
“Our teams learn, apply and refine their skills in real time without disrupting daily site operations. Ultimately this commercial investment is about empowering our frontline staff with the confidence, technical know-how and skills needed to deliver our customer experience to Uganda.”
The initiative comes as Vivo Energy seeks to use workforce capability as a competitive advantage in its retail network.
Hans Paulsen, Executive Vice President of Vivo Energy Group for the East region, said the company’s investment was not primarily about the physical training vehicles but about developing its workforce.
“You need to have the hardware, but the software that comes with it is the most important thing. What is important is to make sure that we continue to innovate, we stay ahead of the game and also continue to realise that the best asset we have is our people. This is an investment in our people.”
Paulsen acknowledged that rival fuel companies could adopt similar mobile training models, but said this could ultimately raise service standards across the sector while forcing companies to continue improving.
“All the other players can actually buy trucks and set up training academies. It’s good for us because the whole industry will lift up the standard. If I was running nine seconds to a hundred metres and my colleagues start to run nine, what happens? I run 8.5. So that’s the key message that we have to have in our minds — it’s okay, we can continue to do that and we will continue to do better.”
He argued that physical infrastructure alone does not determine the quality of a customer’s experience at a service station.
“The experience they remember, good or bad, is what the people give them — the smile, the courtesy and the efficiency of serving them. That’s the true experience, and that’s what Learning on Wheels is driving for our people.”
The mobile training units build on Vivo Energy Uganda’s Retail Academy, launched in 2020 and later relocated to Shell Kitende. The company will retain the central facility while using the mobile units to extend training into the field.
For Vivo Energy, the commercial return on the investment will ultimately depend on whether improved staff capability translates into better customer service, stronger operational performance, improved safety and greater technical engagement with mechanics.
