DAR ES SALAAM: THREE establishments yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with three vocational institutions in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro for uplifting workers’ skills at workplaces.
The MoU came after the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE), Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI) and Trade Union Congress of Tanzania (TUCTA) realising a skill gap among factory workers especially on the practical side.
The vocational training centres are Mzinga VTC, Don Bosco Oysterbay VTC and Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA).
The agreement will see workers under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme join some working places for practical training which will help to improve skill gaps at workplaces.
ATE’s Managing Director Ms Susan Ndomba-Doran said the initiative aims to create a capacity building for the youths at workplaces which will add more skills and become more competitive in the market.
“The main purpose is to narrow the skill gaps to the youths at the workplace by developing their understanding to increase productivity,” said Ms Ndomba.
TVET is a project implemented by ATE in association with Danish Industries and the Danish Trade Union Development Agency (DTDA) aims to mitigate limited skills challenges at workplaces by engaging them to various companies for training sessions.
She said not all young people in the country have been successful through direct education systems that would give them skills, so the existence of this programme helps young people learn more and increase their ability to work.
The project will focus on various areas including fitter mechanics, domestic and industrial electrical installations and food production. Others are refrigeration, air conditioning, bakery and hotel management.
Others are refrigeration, air conditioning, bakery and hotel management.
So far 106 youth at the workplace have benefited from the TVET programme since its inception three years ago.
Additionally, ATE signed another agreement with Business Membership Organisations (BMOs) for practical after three months of theory training.
The BMOs include the Confederation of Tanzania Industries (CTI), the Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), the Tea Association of Tanzania (TAT) and the Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT).
Institutions with which ATE signed a contract for training include Business Membership Organizations (BMOs) such as CTI, Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), Tea Association of Tanzania (TAT) and Hotel Association of Tanzania (HAT).
TUCTA’s Secretary General Mr Hery Mkunde said many students who graduate and go directly to workplaces, have little practical ability hence failing to deliver positively to factories’ outputs.
“After sitting with employers and finding out their needs, we sat with VETA to develop a curriculum to meet their demand,” said Mr Mkunde