Education ministry seals skills deal

THE Ministry of Higher Education has signed a K9.9 million contract of 178 programs for out-of-school youths and SME/Informal sector training in different skill areas across the country, the Ministry public relations officer Chiselwa Kawanda has disclosed.

The program is facilitated through the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA).

Ms Kawanda said the contracts have been signed with 47 training providers across the country and that the training programs would benefit 4,165 unskilled out of school youth and SME/Informal sector players that need skilling to enhance their productivity, efficiency and material utilisation.

Among the funded training institutions include those under the Zambia Correctional Services (skills training section), Youth Resource Centers under the Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry of General Education’s skills training centres, community-based skills centers, Ministry of Higher Education TEVET institutions; Private Institutions; and Faith-Based skills training centres that are registered with TEVETA.

Ms Chiselwa stated that the fund for the training have been sourced from the Skills Development Fund (SDF that was established under the Skills Development Levy Act Number 46 of 2016 and administered by the Ministry of Higher Education.

The targeted programs include; agriculture, construction, engineering, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality.

She further said the fund seeks to lead to the production of relevant and fully skilled graduates by improving infrastructure, recapitalizing machinery and equipment, personnel and capacity building.

The fund is a long term financing strategy of the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) sector in the country to promote collaborations with industry and other stakeholders to improve accountability and transparency.