13 Sep 2018

The Assistant Minister of Tertiary Education, Research, Science and Technology, Mr Fidelis Molao, has encouraged Botswana Accountancy College (BAC) Francistown campus to collaborate with the council to turn the city into a business hub.

Officiating at the Francistown campus tenth year anniversary celebrations on September 12, Mr Molao said growth of the campus presented an opportunity for capacity building of skills necessary to advance the city into a business hub.

Mr Molao further noted that it was important to collectively generate opportunities for work or create conducive environments for young graduates to showcase their innovation and creativity adding that efforts in this regard would reduce migration of brilliant minds to other places such as Gaborone in search of jobs.

“We need them to be part of this city as students and as trained and skilled graduates who can invest their capabilities and experiences towards the implementation of the city’s 2022 and investment strategies,” he added.He further emphasised the need to empower graduates to utilise their competencies, so that they are able to provide solutions for local businesses and city’s developmental needs and challenges.

Giving a brief overview of the Francistown campus BAC Executive Director, Ms Serty Leburu, explained that the institution aspires to be the business school of choice in Africa and beyond adding that the number of students to date attests to the fact that the community believes in the brand.Ms Leburu further noted that BAC looks forward to partnering with Francistown city council, the industry and Francistown community to train, up skill and retool the skills needed to advance Francistown into a successful cosmopolitan city.

“Employability is at the core of our mandate and we look forward to working with your office, the community and industry to create opportunities for our learners to empower their skills through experiential learning acquired through industrial attachments and apprenticeship,” she said

Earlier in her welcome remarks Francistown city mayor Ms Sylvia Muzila appreciated the contribution of BAC to the Francistown community indicating that the city council is grateful for the activities in support of the youth and the underprivileged.

“We understand and believe in the strength of partnerships. As a result, I would like to encourage the BAC management and team to open their doors for collaboration with the community, industry and government sectors across various constituencies to support existing projects that may require innovation, upgrading or restoration,” she said. ENDS