Skills for Employment Tanzania organises Training on Labour Market Information for Occupation Skills Development

The objective of the training was to enhance the capacity of the sector skills council coordinators to improve quality of labour market Assessment by enhance the availability for relevant data on demand for skilled labour in terms of competencies for curriculum and training program development. Of the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, participants included in total 6 Sector Skills Council Coordinators (SSCC) for Agriculture and Agribusiness, Tourism and Hospitality, Energy, Information and Communication technology, Construction, Logistic and Transport. Others were Labour Market Analyst and Curriculum developer from the Vocational Education and training Authority (VETA), the National Council for Technical Education (NACTE) and 6 participants from Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT). Two facilitators from University of Dar Es Salaam facilitated the training. Participants were trained on various topics such as the meaning of Labour Market information (LMI): they discussed the link between information about the labour market and occupation skills development as well as the relationship between labour market information and development of occupation standard. In addition, they were equipped with knowledge and skills of planning and executing surveys. 

Labour Market information is a vital driver of occupational skills development. Skills development should be embedded in the TVET system, but the design should be demand-driven. Therefore, the design of education and training programmes must start with an employment. SSCC and Labour Market Analyst are responsible for improving the quality of Labour market information. This can be achieved by providing accurate and timely data across sectoral economic trends and inform about its implication for skills demand to enable responding to the challenges of unemployment and underemployment among youth in Tanzania, especially women.

Skills for Employment Tanzania- SET is a skills development programme of twelve years. It is funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SDC and implemented by Swisscontact. The project aims to enhance the (self-) employment possibilities of youth in Tanzania through a sustainable and systemic contribution that addresses relevance, quality, and access in vocational skills development.

The objective is to enhance the responsiveness, dynamism, and demand orientation of Tanzanian Skills development system to improve its relevance for the labour market. SET will cooperate with the Tanzania Private Sector Foundation TPSF on strengthening its Sector Skills Council Coordinators regarding labour market information (LMI) for skills development activities, liaison with VETA and other private and public skills providers.

"LMI if obtained from the right source is a vital tool in the preparation of occupation standards. It is more of a priority today than ever before in our country, as our national economic agenda indicates 8 million jobs are expected to be created from the informal and formal sectors. Hence, it’s time to capitalize more on the processes and procedure of obtaining LMI. The LMI training has enhanced my understanding of Labour Market Information dynamics such as key elements to consider in the designing of LMI survey, targeted groups must include industry, training institutions, students, policymakers and regulators, timely preparation, and dissemination of LMI to inform occupation standards." 

- Rehema Mbugi Tanzania Private Sector Foundation, Sector Skills Coordinator- Energy