SUA taps alumni to bridge skills gap
MOROGORO: SOKOINE University of Agriculture (SUA) has begun linking students with business leaders who are university graduates to help bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and practical skills required in the labour market.
The initiative is part of efforts to implement a Vice-President’s directive aimed at ensuring that 10,000 young people acquire skills and work experience every year.
SUA Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academics, Research and Consultancy), Prof Maulid Mwatawala, said this yesterday during a meeting with business leaders who graduated from the university.
The meeting was organised by the Directorate of Internationalisation and Alumni Relations at SUA to explore areas of cooperation between the university and its graduates who own or lead companies.
Prof Mwatawala said the initiative will provide students and graduates with opportunities to gain practical skills and experience in real working environments.
He said SUA had decided to act early by establishing a platform that brings together business leaders who graduated from the university to discuss opportunities for the institution’s development.
“The Honourable Vice-President issued the directive, which reached us as an institution through the CEO, who is the Vice-Chancellor. The Vice-President directed the Tanzania Commission for Universities (TCU), our regulatory body, to ensure that 10,000 young people acquire skills and work experience every year. Practical training is necessary to acquire these skills,” Prof Mwatawala said.
He urged CEOs who graduated from SUA to use their positions to give students opportunities to gain practical experience through various projects and activities in their institutions and companies.
“I urge CEOs of companies who graduated from SUA to use your positions to give our students opportunities to gain practical experience through various projects and activities in your institutions and companies,” he said.
Prof Mwatawala said such opportunities will help bridge the gap between classroom knowledge, practical skills and work experience, thereby improving young people’s chances of securing employment.
Before the meeting, the business leaders toured various projects and activities being implemented by SUA to gain a better understanding of the university’s work and identify potential areas of cooperation.
During the tour, they were briefed on the implementation of the APOPO project and visited the site where a factory for producing various SUA products, including bottled water and juice, is being constructed.
They also visited buildings being constructed under the Higher Education Economic Transformation (HEET) Project.
Meanwhile, NMB Bank Head Office Head of Agribusiness, Mr Nsolo Mlozi, who is also a SUA graduate, said the bank had set aside 20bn/- to support start-up projects for young people and special groups.
Mr Mlozi said supporting such projects was important in promoting the national economy while giving graduates opportunities to gain experience in production and business operations.
“Start-up projects not only contribute to the national economy, but also help graduates gain experience in production and business operations,” he said.
