31 Jan 2022

Government has been commended for its commitment towards investing in education and manpower development.

Speaking during Career Dreams’ seventh graduation ceremony themed: Our Hands, our future, that was  held in Maun over the weekend, the centre director, Mr Kenny Karanja said the institution continued to nurture more youth because of government’s firm support in skills development. That, he said  was essential for the economic growth, social mobility and overall prosperity for Batswana.

About 210 students graduated from the centre, which offers programmes such as hospitality, travel and tourism.

Mr Karanja implored government to continue supporting the institution in skilling young people for a better Botswana, adding that hospitality and tourism was a lucrative business which called for well trained professionals who would carry the service demands of the industry to the highest levels.

As such, he noted that the centre had a great future in Ngamiland and the entire country as it did not just train people to get jobs but trained them to also create jobs for themselves and others.

Graduates, he said had been trained extensively both theoretically and practically across different departments of the hospitality industry.

He also stated that the centre recently opened its brand new state-of-the-art international culinary institute designed to host 1 000 students per intake.

The new facility comprises of training kitchens, restaurant, a wine bar, a conference hall, 16-bedded rooms for housekeeping training, administration block and a hotel front desk reception.

In addition, Mr Karanja informed the gathering that the centre had been accredited by Botswana Qualification Authority to offer Diploma level programmes.

“This means that many students who had previously done certificate level courses with us can now advance into diploma,” he added.

To graduates, he commended them for a job well done, noting that they had come a long way in trying times of COVID-19 pandemic and they fought hard to make sure their goals become a reality.
Kgosi Tshupegetso Bontsibokae of Matlapana in Maun ward appreciated the good efforts made by the centre saying it was doing a great job to produce well trained students who could easily fit into the market.

He called on lodges and hotels operating in the region to consider absorbing graduates to address issue of high rate of unemployment amongst youth.

He also urged graduates to apply what they had acquired so that they became role models of future generations.

North West District Council chairman, Mr Kebareeditse Ntsogotlho who is also a former student of the centre appreciated that the institution had been accredited and expressed hope that it would continue to produce professionals that would help fill the gaps in the tourism sector.

The centre enrolled students from Botswana and other SADC countries, a move that Mr Ntsogotlho said was a right step in growing the country’s economy.

He motivated graduates to be proud to be associated with the centre which produced high skilled personnel.

Mr Ntsogotlho informed them that the graduation marked the beginning of their careers and encouraged them to exercise discipline, dedication and hard work if they wanted to survive and remain competitive in the industry.

He stressed that graduates should not allow fear to be a limiting factor in their lives but rather believe in themselves, love their jobs and be focused as that would drive them to success. ENDS