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Business Reporter
Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe will this week hold a two-day job fair in conjunction with the Chamber of Chinese enterprises operating in Zimbabwe aimed at creating employment opportunities and contributing to economic development.
The China-Stanbic job fair will be held tomorrow and on Saturday at Stanbic Park in Borrowdale as the bank seeks to play a pivotal role in boosting job opportunities for locals in partnership with the Chamber of Chinese enterprises in Zimbabwe.
Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe’s head of trade and Africa China Banking, Tapuwa Nyika, said the idea for the fair, whose theme is: “Working together to boost the Zimbabwean Economy”, was motivated by the leading financial services institution’s quest to improve people’s livelihoods and economic betterment.
“Stanbic Bank appreciates that Zimbabweans are not spared from the global economic downturn with the unemployment rate continuing to rise. To that end, the two-day job fair is aimed at providing an opportunity for Chinese enterprises to hire local talent and pursue localised development,” said Nyika.
He said the China-Stanbic job fair was mooted thanks to the partnership Stanbic Bank has forged with the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises in Zimbabwe for mutual benefit.
Mr Nyika said Stanbic was a customer-centric institution hence it sought to spread the benefit of the partnership to afford locals looking for jobs the opportunities to look closer at the operations of the Chinese enterprises while meeting the employment needs of these Enterprises.
“We have no doubt that the job fair will be pivotal in boosting the Zimbabwe economy because of the partnership with the Chamber of Chinese enterprises with whom we share the same belief that creating more and better-quality jobs is key to boosting economic growth, reducing poverty and that increasing social cohesion will assist the business to grow in a healthy direction,” said Mr Nyika.
The fair will also help Chinese companies to showcase their products and help them showcase what they have to offer and the contributions they are making towards the economic development of Zimbabwe. Mr Nyika said most Chinese companies have been struggling to fill various vacancies within their organisations and the job fair will help Chinese companies cover this gap.
He said the job fair also affords the media and public a chance to acquaint themselves with the employment offers by Chinese companies in an open and transparent way. Participants are expected to leave the fair well equipped with information on positions, business purposes, and cultural values of Chinese enterprises.
Mr Nyika said most of the Chamber of Chinese Enterprises’ member companies will be attending together with local enterprises that cooperate with Chinese enterprises, creating a platform for mutual exchange and display of their own products and services.
“All Chinese-owned businesses in Zimbabwe have been invited to participate. Most Chinese companies advised the Chamber of Chinese business enterprises that they have various vacant roles they need to find suitable candidates. These roles include translators, drivers, and welders among others,” said Mr Nyika.
The Chamber of Chinese Enterprises vice president Shanel Liu said the organisation has several member companies involved mostly in economically significant and national strategic projects here in Zimbabwe.
She said the chair company, Tian Ze Tobacco, has been in Zimbabwe since 2005 and was responsible for the exportation of more than 40 percent of Zimbabwe’s tobacco to China, making it one of the pillars of the tobacco industry.
“Sino-Hydro is the company that refurbished Kariba South Hydro Power Station and is currently upgrading Hwange Power Station, which is expected to add 600 megawatts into the national power grid by 2022.
“Stanbic Bank Zimbabwe has been involved in both of these power generation projects.
China Jiangsu International is working on the Robert Mugabe International Airport expansion project which is expected to boost tourism upon completion. Others include Sino Steel (Zimasco) and Tsing Shan Group, a mining company and technology companies Huawei and ZTE,” said Shanel.
Online Reporter