‘Have confidence in local graduates, give them jobs’

GOVERNMENT has urged local industry players to have confidence in Zimbabwean graduates, saying they are highly competent, fit for purpose and capable of competing on the global stage.

Speaking during the industry-academia session at the recent Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC) Annual Congress in Victoria Falls, Deputy Minister of Higher and Tertiary Education,

Innovation, Science and Technology Development Simelisizwe Sibanda said the challenge facing the employment of local graduates does not lie in the quality of training they receive, but rather in the perceptions of some employers.

He dismissed the notion that graduates from local institutions are inadequately prepared for industry demands, arguing that such sentiments are contradicted by the performance and success of Zimbabwean professionals working abroad.

“Some people think that we have graduates, or I can say some have got the notion that graduates that are produced by local institutions are not fit for purpose.

“But our graduates are going out of the country and they are fit for purpose in those developed economies. So, it goes to the issue of trusting or believing in ourselves and as Zimbabweans and as Africans,” said Deputy Minister Sibanda.

The Deputy Minister’s remarks come at a time when Government is intensifying efforts to implement Education 5.0, a policy framework designed to transform higher and tertiary institutions into centres of innovation, industrialisation and community development.

The model seeks to produce graduates who are not only job seekers but also job creators and problem-solvers capable of meeting the demands of Industry 5.0 and driving economic growth through innovation.

While acknowledging the need for academic institutions to continuously align curricula with evolving industry requirements, Deputy Minister Sibanda stressed that strengthening collaboration between industry and academia is a shared responsibility.

He questioned why industry players often fail to engage universities and colleges with practical challenges that could be addressed through research and innovation, saying this reluctance has created a gap in what should be a mutually beneficial relationship.

“The industry feels the academia should come to the industry. They have money. They feel that way. The academia feels we have the brains. We are the professors. We are the doctors. We cannot go to them,” he said, highlighting the deadlock that has stalled progress.

He called for the establishment of a meaningful platform that would bridge the divide between academia and industry, moving beyond dialogue and ensuring that academic research contributes directly to addressing real-world industrial challenges.

Deputy Minister Sibanda also raised concern over the tendency by some academics to prioritise publishing research papers for career advancement rather than developing innovative solutions and prototypes that can be commercialised and adopted by industry.

“Do they fit into the industry? Is what we are writing about going to be used by the industry? That is the biggest question that we need to ask ourselves,” he said.

The call for closer collaboration comes amid ongoing efforts by institutions such as the Research Council of Zimbabwe (RCZ) and the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) to promote industry-driven research, innovation commercialisation and curriculum co-creation as part of wider efforts to bridge the skills gap and stimulate economic growth.

Deputy Minister Sibanda reiterated Government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for innovation, research and strategic partnerships, saying collaboration between academia and industry remains critical to achieving Vision 2030 and building an upper-middle-income economy.

“The future belongs to nations that can effectively harness knowledge, innovation, and technology to create sustainable prosperity,” he said.

Industry players have previously raised concerns that some tertiary institutions are producing graduates who are inadequately prepared to meet the practical demands of the workplace.