02 Mar 2016

The Ministry of Education and Skills Development last year embarked on Target 20 000 project with the aim of up-skilling and up-scaling the youth. 

Assistant Minister of Education and Skills Development, Mr Fidelis Molao said it was part of the ministry’s five-year strategy to absorb unemployed and out of school youth into short and long-term programmes offered by public and private training providers, and to support the Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP) with technical and vocational skills required for different projects. 

He said since the project was about skills development, the basic criteria for selection of training providers included accreditation with the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) and compliance to the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) committees indicative skills areas. 

“While we have hundreds of institutions across the country, we started off with a few that are already in our sponsorship database with the aim of expanding it to others in the next intakes. 

A total of 14 869 submissions were received by Target 20 000 project office and to date 10 522 applications have been placed under different training providers, and the process is ongoing to finalise placements,” said Mr Molao. 

He also noted that the intakes were not structured around political constituencies, but from 10 regions of the ministry for ease of process management, adding that 1 980 applicants were from the central region which covers the Boteti Sub-region. 

Furthermore, Mr Molao said the ministry was aware that mining areas need drivers, but certainly not the common class B type, which had overwhelming response. 

He, however, noted that as a result, the driving license category of Target 20 000 was temporarily suspended to be reviewed for better implementation. 

He noted that mines require mostly C to EC class driving licenses, and that it was the likely direction that the drivers intake wouldtake. 

“Driving schools across the country will be considered,” he said.

Boteti East MP, Mr Sethomo Lelatisitswe had wanted to know the criteria that was used to select institutions for the first batch of Target 20 000 and ESP programmes, and how many students benefited from such programmes to date as well as how many were from his constituency. 

He also asked whether the minister did not find the need to engage driving schools in Letlhakane for youth in the Boteti area to benefit from the programmes as mines in the area required drivers. Ends