Zimbabwe govt aims to increase skills levels

The government is aiming to boost workers' skill levels, which have declined to 38%, despite the country's literacy rate remaining above 90%, according to a senior government official.

A recent national critical skills audit revealed that national skill levels are still relatively low, despite a national literacy rate of 94%.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony held at Msasa Industrial Training College in Harare, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Amon Murwira emphasized the importance of applying knowledge in the production of goods and services.

"Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. We now know that this mismatch between knowledge and skills was largely a result of the inherited colonial education, which focused on three missions: teaching, research, and community engagement," he said.

"Under the second republic, we reconfigured our education system by adding innovation and industrialization to the traditional tripartite missions and also anchored our education system on our Heritage, thus Heritage-Based Education 5.0."

Furthermore, Murwira encouraged the graduands to establish their own companies and assured them that if they needed assistance, they could approach the government for startup funding.

"As the government, our obligation is to provide an enabling environment through funding and legal frameworks. To you, graduands, you must no longer celebrate just having a paper qualification but celebrate the fact that you have been equipped in a practical way to produce goods and services," he stated.

"Knowledge, skills, and attitude will determine a country's success. Msasa Industrial College is a crucial pillar in the tertiary education system, emphasizing skills acquisition with an 80% focus on practical skills."