Technology and Science Minister Felix Mutati has implored young people graduating from higher learning institutions to be innovative, by venturing into entrepreneurship activities and not wait for white collar jobs. Speaking during the graduation ceremony for 555 beneficiaries of mining skills training from Mopani Central Training Centre in Mufulira (MCTC), Mr Mutati said the New Dawn government will continue creating opportunities for citizens to acquire skills that will help them become self-sufficient.

Mr Mutati said it was gratifying to see more people undertake skills training especially in the mining towns a move that he said will help bring sanity in the way things are done. "The mining sector needs skillful and well-equipped artisans and craftsmen and women for it to be more productive, government is investing huge sums of money in skills development across the country," Mr Mutati said.

He said the mining sector needs more artisans and craftsmen for it to get back to its peak, adding that the target government has of producing 3 million tonnes of copper annually is possible if the country has enough trained artisans and craftsmen.

And Technical Education, Vocational, Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) Board Chairperson Ngoza Nkwabilo said TEVETA is happy with MCTC for its continued commitment to train the students and that the authority will continue to build capacity in the TEVET sector. She encouraged the graduands to ensure that they take up entrepreneurship as a means of employment creation.

Meanwhile MCTC Manager Training and Development Doctor Christopher Chileshe said MCTC has improved over the years and become a fully accredited institution with TEVETA and trains not only the local people but also students from neighboring countries

Out of the 555 graduates 200 are small scale miners popularly known as Jerabos who were trained under the Constituency Development Fund (CDF).