11 Mar 2018

Government intends to improve career services as part of a broad strategy to enhance the employability of graduates and the responsiveness of education and training institutions to the needs of the economy.

Officiating at the Botswana Human Resource Development (HRDC) skills fair and career clinics in Francistown on March 7, executive secretary of Botswana Examinations Council (BEC), Professor Brian Mokopakgosi said with employable, creative, innovative and globally competitive graduates, Botswana stood a better chance of transforming the country’s economy from a resource based one to a knowledge based one.

“An event of this nature should become a common phenomenon if we are to transform our education and training system to meet the demands of both national and international labour markets as well as address the issues of employability,” he said

Professor Mokopakgosi also noted that career clinics and skills fair were an important strategy that could help identify skills and careers critical for Botswana’s transformational agenda.

He added that training institutions had a major role to play in developing the needed skills.

“I wish to urge all key players in skills development to earnestly strategise on ways and means of improving the employability of graduates by equipping them with relevant competencies to excel in the world of work, ” he said

Giving an overview of the skills fair, the chief executive officer of HRDC, Dr Raphael Dingalo observed that career guidance was important amongst prospective students as it helped them to get trained for the necessary qualifications that would best suit what the economy required.

Dr Dingalo further explained that career guidance not only helped students choose careers, but also encouraged them to be innovative in creating job opportunities and employing others, adding that students alone could not achieve it without the help of education institutions.

For his part, Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Fidelis Molao said his ministry was tasked to ensure that Botswana moved to being a knowledge based economy. He also acknowledged that HRDC was an important component of the ministry and played a big role in the economy of the country.

Mr Molao also advised prospective students attending the skills fair to choose careers that suited their interests, aptitudes, work related values and personality types.

“While you should also consider earnings, job outlook and duties, nothing contributes more to job satisfaction than matching your occupation to your character traits and motivations,” he added.

In her welcome remarks, Francistown city mayor, Ms Sylvia Muzila acknowledged that the skills fair has had a positive impact on the city’s economic activities, adding that it was for that reason that the leadership of the city saw it necessary to partner and support HRDC on the skills fair.

She noted that a sizeable number of graduates roamed the streets after completing their education and training, adding that the skills and career clinics came at a fitting time to address the issue by availing information of skills in demand, programme requirements and were job opportunities could lie.

“I applaud HRDC for their efforts and facilitating the nation in preparing and informing our learners to make informed career choices in the endeavour to produce globally competitive graduates,” she said. Ends