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22 May 2023

Lobatse Brigade Centre graduates have been advised to exploit their acquired skills, talent as well as qualifications for employment creation.

Addressing students during a business expo at Lobatse Brigade Centre on Tuesday May 16, the vice chancellor of Botswana University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BUAN), Professor Ketlhatlogile Mosepele encouraged graduates to change their mindset and look into creating employment as entrepreneurs.

He said graduates should find ways of injecting creativity and entrepreneurial spirit in all fields of endeavour in order to make big impact in the society.

Prof. Mosepele said entrepreneurial vision was necessary to solve major issues facing the world, such as healthcare, security and food scarcity. 

He further asked graduates to also respect diversity, be global citizens, and support marginalised communities.

He emphasised that Botswana aspired to become a high-income country by 2036, noting that the aspiration could only be acquired by a robust entrepreneurship by government and stakeholders and willingness by society to embrace the targeted initiatives.

Prof. Mosepele challenged the students to identify their niche areas, capacitate themselves in such and be ready to take up opportunities created by various government initiatives.

Presenting the overview of the business expo, Lobatse Brigade Centre principal, Ms Gracious Motlokwa explained that the primary purpose of the event was to bring together the institution’s stakeholders to empower trainees on how to become entrepreneurs.

“This was more than a job fair in that our students were looking for career opportunities and would use this event as an opportunity to make decisions on the future focus of their education,” she said.

Ms Motlokwa said such events as the expo were a great way for small businesses to find new sales and for potential customers to find new products and services in the area.

She said the theme; Innovation and Creativity Wheels Towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship, resonated well with the Presidential Reset Agenda number 4, which address value chain development and number 5, which is about mindset change.

“We found it very fit to rub shoulders with the end users of our products, which is the industry so that our end products serve a purpose to the industry needs. 

The intended event would go as far as tying the knot with our stakeholders being the government, parastatal organisations, the private sector and alumni,” she said.

Ms Motlokwa said the centre was one of the first brigades in Botswana and had a student population of 242 with a capacity to enroll 256 students.

She explained that the institution currently offered bricklaying and plastering, carpentry and joinery, plumbing and pipefitting as well as welding and fabrication at trade test C and B levels.

Ms Motlokwa also urged students to take advantage of government empowerment programmes and embrace them so that they could be provided with the necessary capital to help them to utilise their innovation, invention, imagination and creativity to come up with new business ideas. Ends