The School of Finance and Banking (SFB) will soon introduce two new degree programmes in Economics and another in Tourism and Hotel Management in an attempt to fill the skills gaps evident in the country in both fields.

This was revealed by Prof Erasmus Kaijage, the Acting Rector of SFB during a validation meeting with stakeholders that was held on tuesday.

"We are starting these courses in the process of trying to fill the skills gap in Rwanda. We saw that there was a serious need in those fields,” he said.

In a presentation, the lecturers of the new courses presented course modules and explained the significance of introducing them at this point in Rwanda.

"More than ever, the problems agitating society are predominantly economic. The problems of inequality discrimination, pollution, energy, growth and stagnation are heavily economic,” said Elijah Siringi an Economics lecturer at SFB.

"Rwanda is an upcoming tourism destination with many natural resources and a hospitable people, yet this potential has not been fully turned into economic gain” said Benjamin Nyaboga, a lecturer of Tourism and Hotel Management.

Both courses will be taking four years to complete and will start at the beginning of the next academic year.

In another presentation on the problem of skills gaps in the country, by Charles Karake the Director of Human Resources and Institutional Capacity Development Agency [HIDA] statistically pointed out that the issue was serious.

Drawing from the survey carried out in the country in 2008, he mentioned that the skills gap in the economics profession in civil society was 90 percent, Private sector 76 per cent, public sector 68 percent.

Karake said that "skills deficit exists at all levels…trying to realize the vision 2020 with this, is simply unattainable.”

SFB will be the second institution to start a tourism course after Rwanda Tourism Institute based at Kicukiro.

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