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Blessings Chidakwa Herald Reporter
A skills audit is set to be carried out in every sector at all levels identifying strengths and gaps Zimbabwe has with a budget in place to even review the education curriculum to meet prevailing demands.
Head of the newly created Ministry of State in Office of President and Cabinet Skills Audit and Development, Professor Paul Mavima this week said skills should be properly oriented as excellence in productivity is a key driver of economic growth.
Minister Mavima said among the major thrust of the new ministry is to ensure that workers are rewarded well according to their skills while also initiating programmes to tap into the diaspora skills to benefit the nation.
“The new ministry is responsible for two major basic things. First aspect is the skills audit. It is all about determining what skills this country has at the same time seeing where the gaps are.
“Once we have identified the skills shortages that we have, we then go and say how do we meet this demand for the skills. That is the second aspect of the ministry which is the skills development,” he said.
Minister Mavima said the skills audit will cut across all sectors from the lowest to the highest levels with a clear-cut budget.
“After identifying the needs, we have to come up with the necessary budgetary determinations to say if we are going to do this we are going to have to invest so much as a country at all levels.
“Then aggressively push for the resource mobilisation for the country to do that,” he said.
Minister Mavima said they were also going to look at niche areas giving comparative advantages in the country.
“You are seeing a lot of developments in the lithium sector. They are indications as far as value addition sector is concerned. So as a country we need to say two up to three years from now what skills related to the value addition of lithium are we going to have and how are we going to develop those.”
“Are we going to designate one institute or institution to do this development,” he said.
Minister Mavima added that: “What exactly is going to be needed in terms of the basic infrastructure, capital expenditure, what kind of people should we bring in as far as professors and other trainers are concerned for us to take off in this particular area.”
Prof Mavima said while the ministry is going to have its own budget to be able to undertake its functions the delivery of the skills themselves is also going to be done in partnerships with other ministries.
“It is going to be a whole of Government approach. There are certain things that have to be done at Primary and Secondary Education Ministry level which have to be funded under the budget of that ministry.
“Technical vocational institutions we are going to identify skills that are needed to be developed at that level. The budgets will have to go to the Ministry of Youth responsible for those technical and vocational institutions,” he said.
Minister Mavima said the programme is going to be encompassing not just other ministries but the entire country cutting across all the sectors of this economy.
“One other thing that we are going to do is to go into industry, various national employment councils and identify what we need to do in order for us to be excellent in productivity in those areas.
“What we are pushing for is excellence in productivity and these are the drivers of economic growth in a country. What we are pushing for is a mindset for every Zimbabwean to say we are now going to transform this nation.
Minister Mavima said in the process the nation is going to create serious employment which will be felt by the entire nation.
He said they will also deal with issues of motivation working with the Public Service Commission to make sure they have created working conditions that lead to the optimal utilisation of skills that would have been developed.
“There has to be a logical connection between skills development and skills retention. For productivity to take place there should be a combination of two things skills and the motivation,” said Prof Mavima.
Online Reporter