09 Sep 2020

It is critical for learners to maximise career guidance and counselling benefits because it shapes their academic expedition and aids in unearthing factors influencing career interests, abilities, and values.

That was said by Botswana Human Resource Development Supply (BHRDS) director, Dr Ella Matshidiso from Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), when addressing the media in Gaborone recently. Dr Matshidiso said HRDC served as an eye opener to learners in terms of programmes to undertake, personal attributes and their capabilities as well as pre-requisites thereof.

She said HRDC worked closely with its sister department, HRD Demand, which performed industry scoping through sector planning to determine labour market needs. “Tertiary Education Institutions (TEIs) are appraised about the dictates of the industry to align training accordingly,” said Dr Matshidiso.

Dr Matshidiso told media that HRDC fair and career clinics aimed to bring together various stakeholders such as the industry, local and international tertiary education institutions and post-secondary school learners with the view to reflect on contemporary labour market matters and trends in relation to skills supply and demand.

She explained that the overall goal of the project was to create a one-stop shop for prospective tertiary learners where education and training institutions and the industry would empower learners with career related information for facilitation of informed choices in choosing their paths.

That, she added resonated well with one of the key drivers of the country’s transformational agenda, the 2009 HRDC which advocated for demand-led human resource development so that human capital became competitive both locally and globally.

“This workforce would be a key driver for both economic development and the aspiration of Botswana becoming a knowledge based economy taking cognisance of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) and the 21st century skills,” she said. Further, she noted that in effort to support learners, HRDC through student affairs services norms and standards, was working closely with education and training providers to pay particular attention to issues that affected learners and the learning environment, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and general health and wellness.

“HRDC promotes skills training and development in the workplace including apprenticeship training and student internships, upskilling and retooling of employees. Work places are capacitated on the development of Work Skills Training Plans (WSTPs). HRDC promotes uptake and utilisation of the training levy for skills development.

Workplaces are encouraged to train employees and get reimbursed for such,” said she said. She urged all stakeholders to prioritise 4IR saying ICT was no longer a choice because it was a need for one to survive. Dr Matshidiso also called for learner support and encouraged collaboration and partnerships both locally and internationally.

For his part, HRDC institutional planning manager, Mr Ralecha Mmatli said learners were accorded on site opportunity to apply for TEIs of their choice but due to COVID-19, HRDC fair could no longer be conducted physically or face to face.

“HRDC constrained to provide face to face technical institutional support and therefore had to leverage on ICT but some TEIs are not well equipped virtually,” Mr Mmatli said. He said capacity building and support to workplaces was limited because COVID-19 protocols had to be observed, adding ICT was still a challenge as a result of some workplaces did not have access to ICT facilities. ENDS