Rwanda Private Sector Federation (PSF) has stepped up measures to improve the country’s labour market through training. To achieve this, the PSF employers partnered with public stakeholders to form a Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET).forum charged with addressing the demands of the country’s labour market. The labour demand market requires among others; technical knowledge and skills for private business and organisational development. Robert Bayigamba, the Chairman PSF, said the forum will also strengthen the private-public partnership which is crucial for economic growth. The forum engages stakeholders from education, business and industry in discussions relating to the impacts of the rapid changing economy on training and employment. It also reflects on how to equip the workforce for the future. He explained that the economy largely depends on the private sector for employment, which is key for socio-economic development. “However, socio-economic development cannot be achieved without skilled labour that offers the employer a comparative advantage over competitors,” Bayigamba added. TVET has also been stipulated in the African Union plan of action for the 2006-2015. Currently, Rwanda’s foreign labour workforce is characterised with gaps in different economic sectors such as hospitality and hotel, tourism, transport and engineering, thereby depending on foreign workforce. Claver Yisa, the Director of Planning, Policy and Capacity Building in Ministry of Education, said TVET aligns with Vision 2020 as a tool for economic development through private-public partnership. He explained that the Vision is to acquire credible skilled human resource to transform the societal mentality and also stop reliance on the foreign expertise. “Much of the labour force today is not skilled and knowledgeable enough to meet the demands of industrial employers,” Yisa said. Yisa therefore revealed that government through the line ministry is in the process of implementing the TVET policy throughout the education institutes. The Rwanda TVET policy was finalised in November 2007 to provide the economy with qualified and competitive workers to participate in sustainable growth and poverty reduction. Ends
