TEVET Authority plans extension

Officials at the Technical, Entrepreneurial, Vocational and Education Training (TEVET) Authority are emphasizing the need to expand vocational training initiatives across rural communities that target young people without formal education.

The move, according to TEVET Authority board chairperson Pyoka Tembo, can be instrumental in creating employment that fosters wealth and job creation for young people in the country who have no academic like primary and secondary school qualifications.

The sentiments were made as a leading vocational skills training institution handed over a refurbished building at Ndanga Community Skills Centre in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Ndanga in Mulanje District.

Commenting on the development, Tembo said: “Vocational skills development is an area which can contribute so much to the Malawi 2063 vision. Revamping the infrastructure means that more trainees will be able to utilize the facility”

Ndanga Community Skills Centre is considered a center of excellence for people residing in the village located north of Mulanje district where students are grilled in various crafts as a way of equipping them with informal skills.

The building handover ceremony also served as a graduation ceremony for 125 trainees in piggery, brick laying, tailoring and fashion designing as well as metal works and fabrication.

Principal at the institution Harneck Makondetsa urged the 2024 cohort of graduates in various fields to contribute to employment creation.

“The vocational skills training has capacitated the youth who took the course to become self-reliant in areas such as building and brick laying. This means they can be able to create jobs and easily create wealth,” Makondetsa explained.

Village Headman Balakasi concurred with the principal by saying: “We are assured that our young men and women who took part in various courses will be able to transform the area with their various technical expertise.”

Since its inception in 2018, Ndanga Community Skills Centre boasts of training thousands of youth in various crafts.

Brian Moses is a trained brick layer from the institution from the 2019/20 cohort. Since graduating, he has provided employment for his fellows in his community and beyond.

“I do not have a tertiary qualification, however, this training has offered me self-employment. I urge my fellow youth to consider taking part in the trainings offered by TEVETA,” Moses narrated.

Every year, new students graduate from the institution, however, access to startup capital and some resources is always a challenge that hinders them from establishing businesses.

On this, a representative from Mulanje District Council Molson Magombo has urged the graduates to consider applying for loans.

“Often time’s individuals who have graduated from such vocational training institutions fail to establish businesses because of insufficient capital. I urge you to apply for NEEF loans that can help finance your business ideas,” Magombo said.