SIDO to equip students with entrepreneurship skills

SMALL Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) in Mtwara Region is set to start implementing an entrepreneurship skills programme in secondary schools level.

SIDO Regional Manager Mr Twaha Sued said the programme will help equip secondary students with skills and knowledge on various businesses that the students can do after school to earn a living.

He made the revelation over the weekend when signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with management of Aquinas Secondary School in Mtwara to start running the entrepreneurship skills programme at the school.

“For the first time, SIDO will be introducing a programme to teach entrepreneurship skills in secondary schools. Such a programme has never been conducted in any other region in the country, SIDO in Mtwara is the first to introduce it,” he said. Mr Sued said the programme will be run for four months at Aquinas Secondary School after which it will be carried out to other secondary schools that are interested.

“We have signed the MoU to conduct the programme for four months in order to identify the challenges on how to better manage businesses. It is the first time for us to introduce this programme at secondary level,” he said.

The Headmaster of the Aquinas Secondary School Ms Paula Ngagani said the entrepreneurship skills programme will be taught to Form Four students at the school.

According to Ms Ngagani, the programme will be conducted theoretically and practically under SIDO experts. She said the students will be taught various programmes including sewing, food processing, mechanical works among others.

“The entrepreneurship skills development training will be conducted in the evening after students have concluded their normal schedules of the day,” she said.

She said the programme is set to help students acquire skills and knowledge and later employ themselves by starting and conducting small businesses after school.

Through the programme, SIDO and the management of schools will later link the students with successful small and medium enterprises to continue coaching them.

The programme, according to Ms Ngagani, will help cut unemployment rate among youths who complete school.