EU commits to assisting Botswana in training

CHANDAPIWA BAPUTAKI
Staff Writer | Monday March 22, 2010 00:00

 

Head of the European Union delegation to Botswana, Ambassador Paul Malin commended the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS) for addressing both education and training as well as the needs of employers.

Speaking at the launch of NHRDS, Ambassador Paul Malin said it links the different stages of education from early childhood development to primary, secondary and tertiary education, then skills training and development then sets them in the context of employment and life long learning, as part of developing a labour force for a modern economy.

Malin said it is a lot cheaper to deal with problems of achievement in education at the earlier stages rather than to try to remedy deficiencies later. 'We are pleased to see the way the NHRDS addresses both the supply side, the offer in education and training and the demand side, the needs of the employers. In this way it tackles the skills mismatch. I can assure you that the European Union will support your work and will continue to be a champion for education and training in Botswana,' he added.

The Assistant Minister of Agriculture, Oreeditse Molebatsi, who was standing in for the Education Minister said the future challenges for the nation will depend on the talent of the people, their skills, as well as the quality of education.

'Our future will be about their ability to develop and be employed in high skill high value jobs. Our future will be about improving our productivity performance, high performance standards rather than accepting mediocrity as being equivalent of the best,' said Molebatsi.

Molebatsi identified unemployment as a challenge that would have to be addressed. 'To tackle this challenge, there will be a need for our labour market policies and education as well as skills development strategies to work seamlessly in harmony to focus on giving all Batswana the right education, training and skills so that they become a good fit for the job market,' he said.

He described the NHRDS as a clear demonstration of government's commitment towards ensuring that people realised their potential and become globally competitive.

Joseph Lisindi, the chairperson of the Advisory Council said that the model of the strategy would come up with a continuous process of upgrading the citizens' education and equipping them with a comprehensive lifelong learning system, which provides opportunities to those who are retiring to be able to contribute positively to the economy of the country.

Lisindi revealed that they have set their goal for 2022, while an interim council has already been established to roll out the structure.