07 Apr 2015

Minister of Education and Skills Development says the youth must have a new mind-set towards vocational schools.  

Officially opening the Tertiary Education Conference and fair 2015 in Gaborone recently, Dr Unity Dow appealed to learners to have a new mind-set as vocational schools could curb un-employment.

Dr Dow said to eke a living, one should make use of their talents and skills, saying such professions remained relevant and paid fairly well in the market.  She said the professions were reasonably rated with an amount of respect in the eyes of an average citizen.

She inspired the youth to shape up their attitude towards technical and vocational education and training, saying it was not a school for the academically challenged but to acquire skills for survival and or self-employment. Dr Dow said they should view artisan skills as relevant and necessary for the economy of Botswana.

Dr Dow said the ministry had shifted focus to technical and vocational education and training as a capacitating strategy that could give students skills that were needed for growing economy in line with the National Human Resources Development Strategy (NHRDS)

She also announced that the recently completed Education and Training Sector Strategic Plan (ETSSP 2015-2020) underscored the relevance, if not the significance of TVET skills as prerequisites to economic diversification, avenues for job creation, solutions to poverty alleviation and ultimately an answer to the beneficiation of the country’s minerals and other products endowed with to drive the economy forward.

She stated that the education system had to be realigned with the right skills to contribute to the economy of Botswana. Dr Dow therefore said the Human Resources Development Council was engaging with different stakeholders to prepare to attend skills development.

She also invited Public private partnership to get together to share best practices for the benefit of the country.

The conference had attracted luminaries and specialists in the sector of education from as far as the United Kingdom, South Africa and Malawi as well as TVET expects to help convince youngsters to choose careers for the betterment of the economy.ENDS