ADDIS ABABA – “ Through strengthening linkage between higher learning institutions and industries, we are doing our level best to provide sufficient and competent Human Resourc(HR) to the growing industries across the country ,” Ministry of Trade and Industry said Since human resource is the major input to productive industry, the ministry has been working on offering practical trainings to students drawn from universities, colleges and TVETs, Ministry Industry, Education and Technology Institutions Linkage and Support Director ShumuTefera told The Ethiopian Herald.
He said that the Ministry has been toiling to improve skills of students having taken into considerations the upcoming technology and the number of personnel it requires. The effort is to provide competent manpower to the country’s industries by 2025, he noted. The students would get practical trainings in various industries so as to scale up what they have learnt theoretically in class, he said.
As to him, the Ministry is working with stakeholders to facilitate programs so that the students would be trained in industries either through internship or apparentship platforms. Consequently, some students who took trainings in the industries are now getting job opportunities based on their achievement and the interest of the companies, he noted.
Moreover, the higher education institutions would help to assist country’s effort to become manufacturing hub through offering advice, conducting research and enhancing technological transformation to the industries, he stated. Accordingly, production increment has been registered in the metal and leather producing industries due to the development of state-of-the-art technologies, according to him.
The Ministry also plans to expand industrial extension works in order to improve the participation of colleges in woreda level by sending at least three or four students to industries for practical training, he indicated. “It would work extensively to achieve the industrial extension plan at the end of GTP III.”
Today the Ministry is striving to increase the number students who get practical trainings in various industries as the sector need numerous trained manpower induced by the increment in the number of the industries across the country, he disclosed.
It had also organized 46 sectoral forums in various states that structured to facilitate cooperation among educational institutions and industries, he told. The Ministry is also working to solve hindering factors such as low public awareness, nonintegrated efforts, financial and system constraints through strengthening cooperation with partners by designing annual plan together, he underlined.
BY YOHANES JEMANEH
The Ethiopian Herald, December 4/2018
