26 Jun 2019

Government has prioritised the implementation of strategies targeted at addressing challenges of skills that have become irrelevant and obsolete.

This was said by the Minister of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development Mr Tshenolo Mabeo at a press conference following the conclusion of the 108th session of the International Labour Conference (ILC).

Briefing the media on what he shared at the ILC, Mr Mabeo said the country was on the path of updating skills needed through the transformation of vocational and technical education to make it more relevant and responsive to industry needs.

“I also pointed out that as the fourth industrial revolution gathers momentum, businesses were increasingly harnessing new and emerging technologies to reach higher levels of efficiency of production and consumption of goods and services,” he said.

Moreover, Mabeo noted that there was a need for the government to intensify efforts to invest in the capacities of young persons with a view to enhancing their employability.

The International Labour Conference, now in its 108th session, adopted a convention and recommendation of the elimination of violence and harassment in the world of work. While the instruments apply to violence and harassment formal and informal work, as well as in public and private spaces, they do recognise that violence and harassment disproportionately affected women and girls.

Commissioner of Labour in Botswana’s Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development, Ms Goitseone Kokorwe clarified that this applied to harassment and violence of all kinds including but not limited to sexual harassment.

Currently, in Botswana, few organisations have a policy on sexual harassment and the absence of such comprehensive policy in the workplace had previously been cited as a major concern for the country’s labour sector.
Botswana was represented by a tripartite delegation comprising of the minister representing government as well as a representative for the workers in the form of Botswana Federation of Teachers Union (BFTU) President, Mr Martin Gabobake and a representative from the employers, being a representative from Business Botswana Mr Dichaba Molobe.ENDS