Online Reporter
Michael Tome
Business Reporter
The Government has approved the Zimbabwe Global Skills Partnership Scheme, a strategic initiative to safeguard the working conditions of Zimbabweans currently employed in the diaspora.
Skills Audit and Development Ministry Permanent Secretary Ambassador Rudo Chitiga said this at the “Future Workforce Dialogue” held by Financial Markets Indaba and the Victoria Falls Nominees in Harare on Friday.
ZGSPS is designed to establish formal agreements between the Government and host nations, ensuring that Zimbabwean workers receive the necessary legal protections and support while they contribute to the economies of other countries.
This comes as the country has faced several instances where the Ministry of Labour and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) have worked on repatriating Zimbabwean workers, who would have found themselves in unfavourable or toxic working environments in foreign lands.
Through this international collaboration, the initiative seeks to enhance the welfare of Zimbabweans in the diaspora and facilitate skills development that can be beneficial upon their return to Zimbabwe.
Ambassador Chitiga noted that the scheme will begin by exploring traditional markets where Zimbabweans are mostly employed as medical staff, followed by many sectors in which the rest of the citizens work.
“Zimbabwe has been instrumental in deploying excess staff in the markets that require labour. So, we are looking at where our labour is deployed currently and also making agreements to deploy to countries that require our labour.
“This is to make sure that they go with protection under an agreement between the governments, not people leaving on their own going to unsafe places. This is an agreement that we are now entering into with different countries,” said Ambassador Rudo Chitiga.
She said the initiative also required employers to agree to bring these individuals back to Zimbabwe to upskill fellows in the local industry.
Essentially, besides financial returns, the country seeks to also enhance the skills of the local workforce through knowledge transfer under such arrangements.
“Cabinet has approved the programme and this programme will start looking at our usual markets of the medical staff. It will look at the excesses, but also the key thing is that we want the employers to agree to bring these people back for skills development, so that they come back maybe for one month during their holidays and teach a new skill to locals.
“So, we want to get the return, not just in money, but the return in skills from these people that we will have sent out and then they come back to upskill the others.
Ambassador Chitiga indicated that Zimbabwe was experiencing skills flight, prompting the Government to develop appropriate policies in response to such challenges.
She gave the example of companies like National Railways of Zimbabwe that have provided training to students who have since secured jobs across the Southern African Development Community, the European union, and other countries, yet there is little to no return on this investment for NRZ.
Similarly, the Ministry of Health and various universities are training nurses and doctors who then seek opportunities abroad, but without Zimbabwe benefiting.
Also, Zimbabwean polytechnics are training technicians who then leave the country and work abroad, without any benefit to the country.
Ambassador Chitiga also emphasised the need for Zimbabweans to focus on acquiring practical skills that drive development.
She noted that the country’s overemphasis on theoretical knowledge and having many degrees has led to a shortage of skilled artisans, hindering progress.
Ambassador Chitiga urged a paradigm shift towards technical training, enabling individuals to develop hands-on skills that meet the demands of the job market and contribute to the country’s growth.
Future Workforce Dialogue, which was attended by several experts, sought to address the skills gap, boost industry and retain local talent.
The event was also attended by Memory Nguwi, the founder and managing Consultant of Industrial Psychology Consultants; Dr Reneth Mano, an applied development economist; Dr Nancy Kangwa, the deputy librarian at the Women’s University in Africa; Mr Bongai Zamchiya, a restaurateur; Jabulani Chibaya, a Data and AI specialist; Tariro Mutonhori, talent acquisition director at Zimworx; Dr Shepherd Murebwa, chief executive of the Imbahub Empowerment Institute and founder of the Institute of Social Development Practices; and Mrs Petronella Muungani, founder of the Institute of Social Development Practices.
