The fifth national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) exhibition is slated for October 2-8, Antoine Manzi, the director for operations at the Private Sector Foundation (PSF), has said.

Manzi said the one-week exhibition, which is organised by the Workforce Development Authority (WDA) and PSF, seeks to promote skills development and innovation "through shared knowledge and experience”.

The fair will be held at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kicukiro.

According to Manzi, the exhibition will bring together different local and international exhibitors from various fields, including ICT, electronics, manufacturing, carpentry and agro-processing, to learn and share best practices as well as exhibit new innovations and technologies.

"The overall objective of the expo is to promote TVET systems in Rwanda and establishment of strong partnership between technical schools and the private sector and other key stakeholders,” Manzi told The New Times.

TVET is one of the government programme is expected to bridge the skills gap in the market and encourage self-employment to reduce the rate of unemployment.

Manzi said the annual event is motivated by the commitment and willingness of the private sector body and WDA to forge partnership that leads to skills development, as well as promotion of TVET in the country.

This is especially as far as supporting the key sectors of the economy is concerned. The interaction is also expected to strengthen partnerships between TVET schools, industries and companies.

The expo presents a critical opportunity that could help provide some of the needed solutions in the job market and industrial sector, Gerald Gatete, the managing director of Regus, said.

"The establishment of WDA by government was aimed at providing a strategic response to the skills challenges facing all sectors of the economy. However, the scope of skills development is too wide to be achieved by WDA on its own.

"It is, therefore, imperative that WDA partners with private sector and civil society agencies to achieve its mandate,” Gatete explained.

The lack of innovative skills and technologies to enhance quality and value of locally-produced products is one of the main challenges affecting the competitiveness of Rwandan goods. Therefore, addressing these shortfalls jointly as WDA and PSF could go a long way in easing the problem and spur industrial growth, as well as strengthen service delivery in the services sector.

business@newtimes.co.rw