VETA graduates to get international accreditation

DODOMA: THE Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) plans to establish 14 centres of excellence across the country to equip students with vocational skills that would enable them acquire international accreditation.

According to VETA, this certification will enable Tanzanians to work with multinational companies worldwide.

The authority announced this ambitious project as the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training implements a new education policy and revised curricula aimed at addressing various gaps, including unemployment.

Highlighting achievements recorded during four years of President Samia Suluhu Hassan’s leadership, VETA’s Executive Director, CPA Anthony Kasore, told reporters in Dodoma yesterday that the authority has already procured modern equipment worth 1.77bn/- , including welding simulators, for Moshi and Dodoma centres.

CPA Kasore cited the latest Tanzania Investment Report, which indicated that in the past four years, the country registered 1,188 projects that have created jobs for over 345,000 Tanzanians.

This development motivated VETA to establish the centres to address the demand for skilled and qualified vocational manpower.

“This initiative will enable Tanzanians to secure jobs in companies investing in Tanzania and even find employment abroad,” the VETA chief emphasised.

To achieve this, VETA has activated 42 training curricula and developed 20 others covering various fields, including ICT, sports, electricity, design, beauty, mining, transport and hospitality.

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According to CPA Kasore, these 62 curricula were intentionally designed to meet the growing job market demand, adapt to rapid technological advancements and align with the newly launched education policy.

Detailing achievements under President Samia’s tenure, CPA Kasore stated that the government has significantly improved VETA’s learning environment by allocating 14.2bn/- for vocational colleges in various locations, including Newala, Ngorongoro, Moshi, Dar es Salaam (Chang’ombe), Kipawa, Mtwara, Mwanza, Mikumi and Karagwe.

Other colleges benefitting from these funds are located in Morogoro, Nkasi, Nyamidaho, Kanadi, Ileje, Namtumbo, Mabalanga, Gorowa, Arusha and Busokelo.

He further stated that VETA plans to increase vocational skills training programmes from the current 274 to 600 at the Morogoro Vocational Teachers Training College (MVTTC) to boost the number of vocational education trainers in secondary schools and vocational training institutions.

Over the past four years, the government has spent 233.7bn/- on constructing new vocational training colleges, upgrading existing ones and installing modern training equipment to expand access to vocational education as part of a broader strategy to combat unemployment.

“The government also subsidises vocational training, covering 860,000/- per student per year for operational and training costs. Each day student pays only 60,000/-, while boarding students pay 120,000/- in fees,” he said.

“Since this amount is not sufficient, the government steps in to subsidise governmentowned vocational training colleges.” Between 2021 and 2024, the government allocated 94.5bn/- to complete the construction of 33 vocational training colleges—29 at the district level and four at the regional level.

Additionally, CPA Kasore highlighted VETA’s Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) programme, which has certified 5,175 technicians, enabling them to secure jobs in the country’s strategic projects, including the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) and the Julius Nyerere Hydropower Project (JNHPP).

VETA envisions a Tanzania with a competent and sufficient workforce, with a mission centred on ensuring the availability of vocational skills through the provision and promotion of Vocational Education and Training (VET) to meet labour market demands and support socioeconomic development