By ROGERS KALERO
INTERNATIONAL Labour Organisation (ILO) Country Office Director for Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique Wellington Chibebe has said understanding what occupation and skills will be in demand in the future of mining is crucial for the sustainability of the sector and competitiveness of the country.
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Mr Chibebe said the mining sector was facing fundamental structural changes, resulting from global trends such as rapid technological advances and so it was important to understand what occupation and skills will be in demand in the future of the mining sector.
Mr Chibebe was speaking yesterday at Garden Court Hotel in Kitwe during the official opening of the Skills for Economic Diversification (STED) Technical and Policy Foresight Workshop for the Mining Sector under the ILO’s Skills Development for Increased Employability Programme (SDEP).
He said the ILO in partnership with the Zambian government and the support of the European Union Delegation to Zambia was honoured to be implementing the SDEP project.
He said the mining industry was facing fundamental structural changes, resulting from global trends such as rapid technological advances, rising demand for minerals and metals to meet the low carbon transition and growing pressure from investors to mine more responsibly and equitably.
“Those forces, working together will fundamentally alter the way the sector operates, with implications for the business model and on organisational structures. Understanding what occupation and skills will be in demand in the future of mining is crucial for the sustainability of the sector and competitiveness of the country.
“This workshop will therefore inform a skills development strategy for the mining sector, centred around partnerships and with the idea of reducing the mismatch between skills demand and supply , towards the building of a robust sector that can unlock sustainable business development initiatives and offer new decent work opportunities , especially for the youth,” Mr Chibebe said.
Mr Chibebe said the mining sector was being targeted as one of the four economic sectors prioritised by the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) in collaboration with ILO’s national counterparts because of its importance in the country’s plan for industrialisation.
“This is because there is potential for investment in skills to make a major positive difference to the pace at which the sector develops and to its capacity to provide workers with decent jobs in large numbers, and because there was potential for investment in skills to strengthen the social inclusivity of employment in the sector,” he said.
And Ministry of Labour and Social Security Acting Permanent Secretary Zechariah Luhanga has said skills development in key sectors such as the mining industry was key for job creation, economic growth and development.
Mr Luhanga said the skills development for increased employability programme contribute to government efforts to enhance the employability of the young people.
Mr Luhanga said the ministry had plans underway to review the skills advisory committee to make it more effective.
He said the ministry was in the process of developing a critical skills list as well as reviewing legislation on work-based learning to guide the development of skills in the country.
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