Invest in skills development— Patrick Kabambe
Malawi government says it values the importance of investing in skills development as Malawi is moving from being a predominantly importing and consuming country to an exporting one.
Speaking on Wednesday in Lilongwe during the Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification (Sted) research validation workshop, Secretary for Labour, Youth and Manpower Development, Patrick Kabambe, said the National Export Strategy (Nest) identified low-skill levels as one of the main factors limiting Malawi’s move into higher value-added production, thereby limiting its export potential, economic and employment growth.
Said Kabambe: “International experience shows that countries that have succeeded in linking skills development to gains in productivity, employment and development have targeted skills policies towards three interrelated objectives of matching skills supply to current demand; helping workers and enterprises to adjust ever-changing skills requirements and building and sustaining competencies for future labour market.”
He said sectors such as horticulture have the potential to boost the country’s export earnings but this can only be achieved if there is evidence-based information to help in identifying business capabilities and skills needed to enhance competitiveness.
“This is why I consider this research report as a timely intervention. With the results of this Sted research and other recent work, my ministry’s plan is to ensure that training programmes in the relevant colleges and universities identify industry needs and that investments in skills development are channeled towards addressing clearly identified current and future skill needs,” Kabambe told the delegates who included chief executive officers and representatives from the private and public sectors, research institutions and academia.
He, therefore, thanked the Swedish government for the supporting the research.
According to the Sted Project Chief Technical Advisor, Naomy Lintini, analytical research in Malawi oil seeds and horticulture sectors aimed to identify business capabilities and skills needed to enhance the sectors export competitiveness.
“The Malawi Sted Research has confirmed the huge growth potential that the oil seed and horticulture sectors in Malawi have as initially highlighted by the National Export Strategy”, she said.
Among others the research report has identified business capability gaps and at the same time proposed policy level and training level interventions and enterprises initiatives.
The 18 months ILO Sted project’s main focus is to investigate the horticulture and oil seeds industry and identify the skills for trade to boost the level of exports in line with the National Exports Strategy
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