The Chinese Embassy, last week, announced plans to increase funding for a project that will see a Technical and Vocational Training institute set up in the Northern Province.

According to the Ambassador, the additional funding will finance the construction of a hotel, attached to the institute, to upgrade the training capacity of the vocational school.

The development will contribute towards fast-tracking the implementation of the integrated Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, which aims at creating a critical mass of a hands-on workforce equipped with the necessary entrepreneurial and employable skills that are critical for the realization of the country’s development agenda.

The hospitality sector is among the critical areas for the country. Rwanda is increasingly becoming the ideal investor as well as tourist destination. However, there remains capacity challenges within the hospitality industry that need to be addressed. There is no doubt that it is through quality training that such challenges will be overcome.

Furthermore, in addition to skills development, the TVET programme will help create employment and consequently enhance the quality of life, especially for the youth.

As the TVET infrastructure is being set up and upgraded, it is important that sensitization campaigns to encourage students to enroll into vocational training are carried out. There is a tendency for students to prefer mainstream education due to lack of information about the opportunities accrued from having the vocational skills.

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