Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development, John Phiri, has called on young people to acquire skills which will help them utilise available opportunities and create wealth rather than depending on white collar jobs.
Dr. Phiri said skills will enable the youth to be self-reliant as opposed to depending on formal employment to better their lives.
He said this yesterday at the Kafue Youth Resource Centre second graduation ceremony.
“Many are the times you find youths feeling frustrated because they believe that, upon graduating, government will provide white collar jobs for them. But believe you me, the world economics including Zambia is changing and ravaged by covid-19 pandemic which require a mindset change in the way we do things,” he said.
Dr. Phiri said the training of youths is one of the means which government is using to empower and to create employment for the young people in the country.
The Permanent Secretary explained that the acquisition of skills is a means for youths to offer services, generate their own income and become self-reliant as entrepreneurs.
“Look around and use your skills to convert the available resources and opportunities into wealth,” he said.
Dr. Phiri also told the gathering that the Kafue Youth Resource Centre, which is nearing completion will comprise eight staff houses, eight workshops, 13 classrooms, two dormitory blocks and one office block.
“I need to mention that this is yet another milestone that President Edger Lungu has given to the Zambian youths to enhance their entrepreneurial acumen, leaving no one behind,” he said.
He further urged youths who are school leavers to enroll in numbers and acquire the vocational and lifelong skills instead of just idling and complaining.
He said last year, President Lungu launched the K470 million multi-sectoral youth empowered programme targeting at 150,000 youths.
And Kafue Youth Resource Centre Principal Benny Sambambi said the centre has managed to train youths in skills such as agriculture, food production, and general hospitality.
Other skills which the centre is providing include plumbing and sheet metal, power electrical, automotive mechanics, metal fabrication and design, cutting and tailoring, and aquaculture.
Meanwhile, a graduating student in power electrical, Maria Chimbala, appealed to government to consider empowering graduating youths with loans and internship programmes in order for them to have start-up capital for businesses.
A total of 133 youths from the 2019 to 2020 academic year intake graduated in various skills.
The Govt, needs to make sure that Trades training centres for training people in life skills such as plumbing, carpentry, construction, electrical works etc are vigorously propped up in every district to ensure equal access to life skills training. This in turn will support our economic boom that is coming within the next 5 to 10 years. Let the doom sayers remain behind.
These skills Dr. John Phiri is talking about will not work without revising the curriculum because in its current form its skewed towards white color jobs. It will need a serious govt not PF that is reason people should vote for UPND as they will be able to change the we way our public affairs are managed. Its is difficult for people that are scared of the unknown to accept change. You cannot be in one position forever without realising that change is needed to solve certain things.
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I am glad, the institution is in place. Money in your pocket, it is happening.