AS the country strives to attain middle income
status by 2025, the Deputy Minister for Education, Science, Technology and
Vocational Training Honorable Eng. Stella Manyanya has suggested some creative
ideas which government institutions and stakeholders should consider in
strengthening skills for economic development and enhance employability of
youth in the country.
Speaking during her visit to the Vocational
Education and Training Authority (VETA) in Dar es Salaam on February 10, 2016, Hon.
Eng. Manyanya said that it was high time that youth at all levels from standard
seven to university level are prepared to attain skills, which will enable them
to be competitive in the labour market, thus enhancing employability and
accelerating economic development of the country.
She suggested that youth graduating with
professional and academic qualifications should be advised and sensitized to
learn and acquire some vocational skills as essential requirements to enhance
their employability.
The Deputy Minister said that it was challenging to
see many university graduates remain jobless after
graduating despite spending a lot of resources and time in their studies,
adding that such a challenge would be mitigated through self-employment if
those graduates were imparted with hands-on skills.
“I encourage university graduates to join
vocational training which will enable them to acquire skills to prepare them
for self- employment rather than staying at home waiting to be employed” She
said.
She urged the varsity graduates to change their
mindset against low cadre jobs, adding
that their degrees would be used as assets in doing those jobs in a more professional
and effective manner.
Furthermore,
the Deputy Minister said it was time to consider review of the
system for facilitating higher learning students to allow those at the
technical level also get supported with loans in order to increase production of
technicians who are highly needed by the growing labour market that requires more
specialized and higher levels of skills.
She also urged VETA to introduce more programmes at
a technician level at its centres in order to contribute to increasing technicians,
especially in the trades which have acute shortage of technicians likeconstruction,
oil and gas,hospitality and agribusiness.
The Minister was optimistic that vocational skills
will at a large extent curb the problem of youth unemployment due to the fact
that the training enables the graduates to enter into the job market with
employable hands-on skills, which provides them with options for getting
employment for wages or self-employment.
Earlier, the Ag. VETA Director General Mr. Geofrey
Sabuni said the authority was making various efforts to improve training
provision and ensure the training reaches more people in the country hence
contribute to the national socio-economic development.
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