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Sikhulekelani Moyo, [email protected]

LUPANE State University (LSU) has said curriculum review and regular updating of academic curricula in line with ever changing environments are critical to ensure that new trends are incorporated into degree programmes in a bid to address skills gap and come up with relevant skills which can contribute positively towards economic growth.

In a joint response to the questions sent to them by the Business Chronicle, LSU Dean of the Faculty of Commerce Dr Sibongile Manzini and economist Ms Pretty Nyathi, who is also a lecturer at LSU, said the skills gap has significant implications for businesses and the economy in general.

They said the lack of a technically skilled workforce can lead to a decrease in productivity, increased costs of training, higher employee turnover and difficulties in innovation and adaptation to technological advancements.

“Curriculum review and regular updating of academic curricula in tandem with ever-changing environments are critical to ensure that the latest industry trends, technologies and best practices are incorporated into degree programmes as revealed in the Zimbabwe National Critical Skills Audit Report (2018).

“This may involve introducing new courses, integrating practical experiences, and emphasising the development of soft skills alongside technical competencies,” said the duo.

Dr Manzini and Ms Nyathi said there is a strong positive correlation between economic development and the availability of relevant skills to run different economic sectors.

They said at the macroeconomic level, a persistent skills gap can hinder economic growth, reduce competitiveness and limit the ability of industries to thrive in a rapidly changing global environment.

“Evidence abounds of nations that have moved from being low to middle and high income premised on focused skills development.

“Human capital development is crucial in the industrialisation and modernisation of Zimbabwe as enunciated in the National Development Strategy 1 agenda,” they said.

“The process of developing the required human resources should be guided by the essential skills that exist and are projected to be in the pipeline to drive the key economic sectors.”

They added that there is a need for a multi-faceted approach to addressing the skills gap through various components that include the need to embrace and respond to new technology from primary, secondary and tertiary education to produce specialists who can take up influential positions locally and internationally.

“Zimbabwe has to have a more focused approach to education and training to establish a balance between supply and demand both in terms of quality and quantity in engineering and technology education and training to meet the projected deficit.

“Government and policy support can provide support through incentives, funding, and policies that encourage collaboration between academia and industry (IOM, 2019).

“This can include initiatives to promote apprenticeships, tax incentives for employer- supported training and funding for research and development. Funding research is critical to address the industry through a research-based approach.”

Last year President Mnangagwa, assigned Prof Mavima to be the Skills Audit and Development Minister, a move analysts applauded as necessary for better public service delivery.

The analysts saluted the President for his “fresh approach” to making his Government address long-standing, worsening skills shortages that have been threatening the delivery of its goals.

The last skills report of 2018 showed only 4 percent of civil servants are digital professionals, compared to an average of between 8 percent and 12 percent in other sectors and that a major skills shortage was affecting the whole of Zimbabwe with departments ill-placed to compete.

The audit revealed training needs for senior managers in areas that include financial management, strategic capability and leadership, risk management, change management, policy development and monitoring and evaluation from councils to the Central Government.

Dr Manzini and Ms Nyathi said the new ministry can play a vital role in coordinating efforts to address the skills gap.

They said it can work to conduct comprehensive skills audits to identify specific areas of skill shortages, develop strategies for addressing these gaps and collaborate with relevant stakeholders to implement targeted skills development programmes.

“The ministry can serve as a focal point for policy development, resource allocation, and monitoring and evaluation of skills development initiatives.

“The establishment of a Ministry of Skills Audit and Development reflects a proactive approach to addressing the skills gap, which is critical for the long-term economic competitiveness and growth of the country,” they said.

“By taking a strategic and co-ordinated approach, the ministry can contribute to bridging the skills gap and ensuring that the workforce is equipped with the necessary skills to drive economic prosperity in a rapidly evolving global economy.”

They said the introduction of the new ministry demonstrates the commitment that the Government has towards ensuring an upper middle-income society by 2030 through addressing all skills gaps which have always been a perennial challenge to economic development.

“There is ample scope for the new ministry to form collaborations with the various players to ensure that skills gaps are addressed timeously through the budgetary alignment to the critical areas in the economy,” they said. —@SikhulekelaniM1