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EU Invests K25bn in Malawi technical colleges

 

The European Union (EU)  has invested 33 million euros (about K25 billion) to implement the Skills Technical Education Programme (Step) to improve technical training in Malawi’s technical colleges to enhance socio-economic development.

Step, which was launched in Lilongwe, the capital city, on Friday, is part of the 11th Education Development Framework Support to Malawi  supporting government initiative of empowering the youth, job creation and increasing access to Technical, Vocational, Education Training (Tvet).

Technical skills are vital for economic development
Technical skills are vital for economic development

The overall objective of the programme is to empower vocational education and training sector and its capacity to satisfy the economy’s need for skilled professionals through expansion and improvement of equitable and gender balanced vocational educational training.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch in Lilongwe, EU Ambassador Marchel Gerrmann said Malawi’s five-year National Export Strategy (NES) relies on skilled

workforce as an enabler for increased productivity.

He said: “Technical training is essential in increasing the quality and volume of skilled workforce,thereby contributing to economic development.

“However, it is important that economic development leads to inclusive and sustainable growth, which benefits all Malawians and not just a selected few.”

Gerrmann said one of the reasons the EU funded the programme is that enrolment in technical training is among the lowest in sub-Saharan Africa and that most of the trades remain male dominated.

In his remarks, the country’s Minister of Labour, Youth, Sports and Manpower Development Henry Mussa said the coming in of Step is timely as government wants to provide training to the youth so that they can create employment.

“As a country, we want to change the mindset of our youth so that they should not just be thinking of white-collars jobs, but blue- collar jobs as well,” he said.

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) regional director Hubert Gijzen said skills are vital for poverty reduction; hence, the programme is focusing on skills and Tvet.

He said the launch of Step is the start of a new partnership between the EU delegation in Malawi, government and Unesco. n

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