Tertiary sponsorship declines
Tsaone Basimanebotlhe | Tuesday December 6, 2016 16:00
President Ian Khama said the decline was 21.3% in the 2014/2015 financial year, compared to financial year 2015/2016 when it declined further by 19.9%.
“This is due to the limited government financial resources for sponsorship. Given the exponential growth in demand for tertiary education, government is therefore exploring options for sustainable funding including cost-sharing,” Khama said during the State of the Nation Address (SONA). In his SONA, Khama said in order to reduce graduate unemployment, government is engaging employers to identify marketable skills.
The President said in this regard, specific sector plans have been developed for the agriculture, tourism, minerals, energy and water resource sectors.
He continued: “As a way to further close skills gaps, government introduced the ‘Target 20,000 Initiative’ for the rapid upskilling of unemployed youth. This programme commenced in 2015-2016 financial year, when 13,410 students were enrolled in 24 institutions, with course durations ranging from short-term to up to three years. As of August 2016, 1,372 students had completed their programmes.” To specifically reduce unemployment and shortage of skills amongst the youth, the President said more youths are being enrolled in various apprenticeship programmes through Madirelo Training and Testing Centre. “These apprenticeships expose learners to real work experience that increases their employment prospects as well as skills to become self-employed.
In addition, the Construction Industry Trust Fund continues to target unemployed and unskilled youth, school leavers and disadvantaged groups to enable them to acquire practical competencies in building and construction trades,” he said.
He said during 2015-2016, 1,346 students completed training at the Gaborone Main Centre of whom 1,050 secured employment in various building, construction and allied trades. On youth empowerment, the President said government continues to support youth industries by financing of startups through the Youth Development Fund, which has an annual budget allocation of P120 million.He said the last financial year a total of 1,032 projects were funded to a tune of P107 million creating 1,613 jobs.
“In addition, as a deliberate policy change to improve the sustainability of youth businesses, exemptions and quick-wins were introduced as part of our affirmative action in favour of youth businesses,” he said.
He, however, said government remains steadfast in its commitment to promoting positive attitudes among young people to be responsible and self-reliant individuals with sound morals.