To increase workforce employability in the tourism and hospitality sector, TEVETA has signed contracts for 126 apprentices in different skill areas. The contracts were signed with Falls Park Hotel Limited, Minor Hotels Zambia Limited, Protea Hotels Zambia, Safari Par Excellence Limited and David Livingstone.

Speaking during the employer-based training contract signing, TEVETA Board Chairperson, Ngoza Nkwabilo said the signed apprenticeship and employer-based training contracts with various companies marked a pivotal collective commitment to bridging workers’ skills gaps and driving sustained economic growth and business resilience.

Mrs. Nkwabilo said the apprenticeship training opportunities offered to the young people were transformative to human resources development. “Apprenticeship training provides hands-on experience, mentorship and exposure to real-world ways of ddoing business. It prepares apprentices for smooth transition into the world of work. I call upon other companies to partner with TEVETA to increase the employability of our workforce for improved business efficiency and productivity.”

She said with the signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between TEVETA and Zambia Federation of Employers (EBT), there were more opportunities for partnerships in the development of a relevant human resource for economic and business competitiveness.

“The more skilled we are, the better we will be as country. Our attractiveness to investment calls for adequate and relevant skills. We need to build capacity in other training institutions to increase the uptake of up-skilling programmes to benefit the whole country.”

Mrs. Ngoza said the Skills Development Levy (SDL), which was the source of financing employer-based and apprenticeship training was a critical cornerstone enabling colleges to undertake tailored training to meet industry skills needs and support lifelong learning.

“It is pleasing that the tourism and hospitality sector is investing in apprenticeship training. The 126 apprenticeship opportunities provided for the youth in the tourism and hospitality sector will transform their lives and the skills landscape in this subsector.”

And TEVETA Director General, Cleophas Takaiza said the K11 million shared investment into work-based learning by TEVETA and 20 employers would benefit more than 1, 000 employees including apprentices.

Mr. Takaiza said the employers who partnered with the authority were from manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, finance, insurance, health, energy and mining sectors. He urged other training institutions to engage various employers on workers’ up-skilling and reskilling. “The contracts we are signing are solving today’s problems for employers. We should therefore, reach out to employers in sectors not fully covered by TEVET. No sector can survive without appropriate skills as skills are the drivers of everything under the sun.”

Meanwhile, Eng. Bright Sepiso, Head Training and Research at Kafue Gorge Regional Training Centre (KGRTC) who spoke on behalf of training institutions, said the Skills Development Levy had significantly created opportunities for lifelong learning and upskilling of employees. “Investment made by TEVETA using proceeds from the SDL in Employer Based Training is a game changer to Human Resources Development (HRD).”

Eng. Sepiso said KGRTC utilised financing by TEVETA to build partnerships with different employers to improve the quality of their workforce and retain their business competitiveness.