President Mnangagwa links career guidance to local production

Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has challenged schools and training institutions to align career guidance with Zimbabwe’s industrial needs and equip young people with skills to produce goods and services for local and export markets.
President Mnangagwa, who was represented by Defence Minister and ZANU PF National Chairman, Honourable Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri at the launch of the National Career Guidance Policy at St Therese Mission in Rusape today, said career guidance must bridge gaps between education, industry and employment.
He said the policy would help match training programmes with skills demanded by employers, while encouraging young people to pursue careers that address community and national economic needs.
“The situation where industries struggle to find the skills they require, while our graduates struggle to find jobs must thus be addressed,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the policy complemented Heritage-Based Education 5.0, which promotes innovation, entrepreneurship, industrialisation and value addition.
He said Zimbabwe needed skilled graduates who could create businesses, develop local industries and add value to the country’s natural resources rather than rely solely on formal employment.
“Under this initiative, not every young person must be an employee. We are masters of our own destiny,” he said.
The President said human-capital development remained central to achieving National Development Strategy 2 and Vision 2030, adding that industrialisation required skills aligned with a modernising economy.
He also challenged the ministry responsible for career guidance to establish a national career information system providing real-time data on education pathways, skills shortages and labour-market trends.
The system should help learners identify emerging opportunities in artificial intelligence, automation, digital technology, agriculture, renewable energy, mineral beneficiation, tourism and creative industries.