Online Reporter
Theseus Mauruki Shambare
Herald Correspondent
GOVERNMENT is intensifying sector-specific skills audits to identify gaps between education and industry requirements as Zimbabwe moves to tackle skills mismatches and improve graduate employment.
Skills Audit and Development Minister Dr Jenfan Muswere said the new approach was building on findings from the country’s first National Skills Audit conducted in 2018, which exposed significant mismatches between skills being produced by the education system and those required by industry.
He said the latest assessments were being conducted at sector level to provide more detailed information on the skills required to support economic development.
“We have now conducted sectorial analysis, which is more empirical in terms of each and every sector,” said Dr Muswere.
He said the need for the audits was underscored by the number of graduates entering the labour market each year, with more than 80 000 graduates produced annually while industry had been unable to absorb the majority.
However, Dr Muswere said the Government was now putting measures in place to ensure education and training responded more closely to labour-market demand.
“We are moving away from supply-driven education to demand-driven education, which then aligns industry as the leader in terms of skills development,” he said.
The Government has also developed the National Skills Development Policy, which seeks to align skills development with industry requirements, while the National Career Guidance Policy is intended to strengthen career guidance and promote areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
Dr Muswere said Government was strengthening cooperation with the private sector, including through memoranda of understanding with the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce and the Confederation of Zimbabwe Industries.
He said industry, universities, Government and wider society had to work together to ensure training institutions produced skills relevant to the economy.
“As we continue to conduct more and more skills audits across the board, the more we are in a position to close the gaps and align skills development to industry and the demands of industries and corporates,” he said.
The skills audits are part of broader Government efforts to align education and training with Zimbabwe’s industrialisation agenda, including heritage-based education, value addition and beneficiation.
Dr Muswere said continuously identifying emerging skills requirements would help the country prepare its workforce for changing industries and employment opportunities.
