VETA Principals urged to strengthen training delivery for industrial development

Principals of the Vocational Education and Training centres have been urged to strengthen training delivery in order to align appropriately with the vision of industrialization as emphasized by the fifth phase of the Tanzania government.

The call was made by VETA Director of Vocational Education and Training, Ms. Leah Dotto during official opening of workshop for harmonization of selection of VETA trainees for 2017 intake held at the Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training Centre (MVTTC) in Morogoro on Tuesday 8^th November, 2017.

Ms. Dotto said that, vocational skills are crucial and inevitable in the industrialization process as virtually all industries need personnel with vocational skills to operate them.

She asked principals to become quick in decision-making and creative in designing long and short-term courses in order to ensure that they produce as many skilled labour force as possible, ready to support the industrial development.

“Our business is skills development, therefore you should think of what you contribute to the country in regard to industrialization process,” she stated.

She also alerted principals that there are many skilled youth around, but simply lack soft skills like customer care, entrepreneurship and marketing skills, required for growth and proliferation of their businesses, therefore urged them to see that as an opportunity for introducing short courses to address the need.

She said, creativity in introducing different skills training programmes to address different needs not only contribute to supporting industrial and economic development of the country but also increase visibility of VETA centres in the communities around and of VETA before the general public.

“By supporting the community around we also become visible, they know who we are and we increase ties with the people around us,” she said.

In another development, the Principals of all VETA centres unanimously agreed that by July 2017, level III training shall be introduced in all VETA centres as a move to satisfy the needs of trainees and employers.

They agreed that while level II will still remain as a voluntary exit level, trainees will be given wider opportunity for progression to level III, which is a required qualification for vocational training and which employees have been longing for a long time.

In the move, some centres will start to introduce level III training in January, 2017 while others will start in July, 2017 and announcements will be made to inform potential applicants.