Rwanda has experienced significant strides in education and economic progress over the past 30 years, however, the level of skill development remains insufficient for achieving the country’s development ambitions.

According to the recent World Bank Rwanda Economic Update report, the state of skills in Rwanda varies significantly across sectors, with agriculture and industry having the lowest skill levels.

It is estimated that out of the 4 million employed individuals, 83 percent have completed only basic education or less, 8.8 percent have secondary education, and 8.2 percent have tertiary education.

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"Harnessing the Rwandan youth population, through improved training and educational opportunities along with dignified employment, will be key to Rwanda’s growth prospects and ambitions,” it states.

Here is a look at five key hindrances to skills development needed in the labour market, which should be addressed to achieve the desired development, according to the report.

Limited practical training

The skills gap is largely caused by theoretical education with limited practical training. Although industrial attachments are part of most Rwanda Polytechnic and University of Rwanda programs, not all students get an opportunity to improve their practical competencies.

According to the 2021 Rwanda Polytechnic’s Graduate Employment Survey, circumstances hindering placement of students in the industry include interns’ lack of understanding of workplace requirements, disinterest, fatigue, disregard for regulations, and difficulties in managing interns effectively.

This is while employers noted that interns often struggled to operate equipment properly and failed to bring protective clothing, and many preferred placements in Kigali.

Furthermore, companies lacked insurance for damages caused by interns, and were hampered by inadequate materials, equipment, and infrastructure.

The report highlights that the private sector and employers need to be structurally incentivized to engage in policy-making and provide training.

Align student specialisation with labour market demands

The report also noted that students may not pursue courses that align with job market needs, which calls for the government’s focus on sector-specific skills development and enhancing digital literacy to ensure an educated, skilled workforce that aligns with Rwanda’s economic transformation goals.

There is an intertwining of many factors that cause many students to not opt for degrees desired in the job market, including insufficient career guidance and mentoring, unavailability of courses and qualified instructors, and high cost of enrollment.

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It recommends revising curricula to align with priority economic sectors, offering competency-based training for faculty and trainers, strengthening industry academia links, expanding critical infrastructure and training equipment, and increasing practical learning opportunities through internships and apprenticeships.

Limited teaching competency

Another key hindrance is unavailability of qualified instructors across the system, pointing out that enhancing TVET quality involves improving teaching staff competencies and employment conditions, creating demand-driven curricula, and upgrading learning conditions in key economic sectors.

Additionally, mentorship programs can make science and maths subjects more attractive to create quality human capital for a knowledge-based economy.

Improving teacher quality can include partnering with regional and international universities to share knowledge on best practices, expanding study abroad or training opportunities for instructors, and bringing in guest faculty.

Improving incentives to attract high-quality faculty and frequent training of trainers should be considered, it added.

High tuition cost, limited scholarship

It is noted that the high cost of enrollment and lack of scholarships limit access to higher education, meaning that access to scholarships and financial aid should be eased.

"Given high tuition fees, creating a more nuanced and comprehensive scholarship system could help address inequities in access to higher education.”

Inadequate soft skills

Despite the improved access to TVET and tertiary education, there is a strong need for a systematic shift to a hands-on learner-centred model, and a rollout of soft skills and work readiness curriculum for students to be employable.

The experts involved in the report indicate that cross-cutting skills like work readiness, English proficiency, communication skills, confidence level, and problem-solving must be included in regular training and offered to the general population through employment service centres, youth centres, and bootcamps.

While there are more areas to tackle, the report shows that efforts to improve the skills ecosystem, however, will fall short without corresponding initiatives to spur job creation in the economy by supporting private sector growth.