OVER 12,580 university graduates, including those studied agriculture, have been equipped with needed skills offered under the Tanzania’s National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS 2016-2026) for self-employment.
Through the NSDS, the country envisages a comprehensive restructuring of its skills development system.
The strategy covers formal, non-formal and informal skills development, and responds to the needs of both the formal and informal economies.
Speaking to the Parliament yesterday, Deputy Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (Labour, Youth, Employment and People with Disabilities), Mr Patrobas Katambi, mentioned the strategy as part of efforts to increase the number of jobs for youth.
He was speaking when responding to a question raised by Special-Seats MP TheaNtara (CCM).
In her basic question, DrNtara sought to know government’s plans for increasing more jobs for graduates whose number has kept on increasing since increased number of loans beneficiaries at the Higher Education Students’ Loans Board (HESLB).
She asked what were government plans to absorb increasing number of graduates in the job market.
MrKatambi noted that the NSDS, which offers skills training and experience on modern agriculture countrywide, has so far trained a total of 12,580 graduates including those who studied agriculture to enable the create their own employments.
The programme has also offered the group with an internship in local and foreign companies, whereby 6,624 graduates have benefited, he said.
The programme has also introduced incubation centres which have started operating in Morogoro and Coast regions, he said.
He elaborated that with this national programme over 1000 graduates from the agriculture field have been equipped with training for initiating agriculture activities, out of which 39 have been given opportunity to start agriculture activities in various farms in the country.
He said the government closely working with the Sokoine University Graduate Entrepreneurs Cooperative SUGECO to empower the graduates in the agriculture field.
The SUGECO aims to promote agribusiness innovation and enhancement in order to develop creative mindsets, ingenuity, and inspirational success in the field.
The deputy minister stated that the SUGECO has enabled 703 university graduates to go to Israel and USA for training on agriculture.
Apart from these, the Prime Minister’s Office in collaboration with the Agriculture Ministry has initiated a programme called ‘ Building a better Tomorrow’ targeting youth, both graduates and Non-graduates.
Under this collaboration, the Prime Minister’s Office provides training and the Ministry of Agriculture has a duty to provide lands and capital to the youth for cultivation.
Source: All Africas
