By Prisca Lumingu
GOVERNMENT says it has set premium on supporting and ensuring that the internship and apprenticeships programs are scaled to enhance skills development in the country.
Technology and Science Minister , Felix Mutati , said internship and apprenticeship is targeted at empowering people especially youths to improve their skills in different fields.
Mr Mutati he said wants to give an opportunity to young people through enhancing skills development so that they can be able to stand on their own feet.
The Minister said this when he and his counterpart Labour and Social Security Minister Brenda Tambatamba toured Solwezi Training Institute (SOTTI) and Kwabula Trades Training Institute under Kansanshi Mines Plc yesterday.
He said once skills development is impacted in the youths, it will be easy for government to avoid contracts to the youths for instance supplying of school desks, doors and tables among others.
“It is through skills development that government creates business and employment. It is through simple things such as bricklaying, carpentry that many youths will be gotten read to deal with their future,” Mr Mutati said.
The Minister also thanked Kansanshi Mines for partnering with Solwezi Trades Training Institute-SOTTI by providing internship for the students and other advanced equipment for learning.
He said government would ensure that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Kansanshi Mines Plc to create a standard model for the rest of the industry that collaboration with government pays.
And Labour and Social Security Minister Brenda TambaTamba said the courses being offered by Solwezi Trades Training Institute and Kwabula gives an opportunity to government to encourage people that line up for employment to venture in skills development.
Ms TambaTamba said it is pleasing that the institutions can create an enabling environment through bursaries to those that cannot afford to sponsor themselves.
She said her Ministry is also mandated to promote productivity both in the public and private sectors.
“We promote and get to talk sustainability if the institution is producing work but is not productive enough to be profitable,” she said.
And speaking earlier Kansanshi Mines Plc General manager Anthony Mukutuma said as the mine looks at investing for expansion, it will be more interested in skills such as operators, maintenance people hence its investment in the Kwabula skills training centre and entering into partnership with Solwezi Trades Training Institute-SOTTI.
Mr Mukutuma said a facility like a trade school is important to the mining company and the company would continue putting in efforts to ensure that the skills it gets from trade schools are quality skills.
