Byron Adonis Mutingwende
Spiked Media
A meeting of the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development and the media has revealed that the development of skills is essential for economic growth and workforce competitiveness.
Addressing the engagement workshop in Harare on Wednesday, Ambassador Dr. Rudo Chitiga, the Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development emphasised the importance of assessing and improving skills in Zimbabwe.
“We are at a time when we want to build a strong institution that speaks to the needs of the country, enables the country to go forward, and also pulls together all the efforts in skills development that the country is carrying out from the community level up to our institutions of higher learning.
“The skills challenge is a whole of society challenge. It is not one ministry that can handle this. This is a societal problem that we have just been asked to facilitate. So consider us as facilitators rather than experts, facilitating the opening up of different spaces and also the adoption of different programs and policies to enhance skills development,” Ambassador Chitiga said.
Head of News and Current Affairs of the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Ian Zvoma, said in the job market, there is a challenge concerning the issue of correct placement.
“Our media industry has suffered from that because everyone can wake up and become a journalist. And these unskilled people are on the radio, they’re on TV, and they even don’t know the basics, the ethics of journalism,” Zvoma said.
Ambassador Chitiga said the failure to achieve skills retention has also been a major problem. She said some professors are supposed to be in universities but are directors in offices not related to what they studied.
“In the media, people are looking for content creators and TikTokers. So everyone now has become a journalist in my eyes. I feel sorry for you because right now I am a journalist. Others are successfully running podcasts without a journalism background. People are being trained on the street rather than in schools,” she said.
ZimNow Editor Monica Cheru alluded to several initiatives advancing skills development in the country.
“UNICEF Zimbabwe’s Quality Learning and Skills Development Programme focused on providing equitable and quality learning opportunities for children and adolescents, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and in humanitarian settings.
“As journalists, we utilized social and behaviour change campaigns to promote the importance of education through this programme. It demonstrated how targeted media campaigns and community engagement can effectively promote skills development and educational inclusivity,” Cheru said.
She said the Almasi African Playwrights Conference co-founded by actress and playwright Danai Gurira, exemplifies how media exposure and engagement can support the development of creative skills and promote cultural narratives.
This article originally appeared on Spiked Media and is republished with permission Read the original:
https://spikedmedia.co.zw/ministry-engages-the-media-to-enhance-skills-audit-and-development/
Leave Comments