Zimbabwe Horticulture Sector Skills Strategy (2022-2025) – Skills for Trade and Economic Diversification

In line with the National Development Strategy priorities and Zimbabwe Horticulture Recovery and Growth Plan, the Government of Zimbabwe, through the Inter-ministerial and tripartite plus National Task Team co-chaired by the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Innovation, Science and Technology Development and Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare together with the Ministry of Industry and Commerce; and Ministry of Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, developed this Horticulture Sector Skills Strategy (Fruits and Vegetables). The strategy was developed following an International Labour Organization (ILO) Skills Anticipation Methodology called skills For Trade and Economic Diversification. The strategy is a critical document that articulates the needs and galvanises a sector together with its key partners to address specific challenges and ensure that the technical and vocational education and training that support human capital development in the fruits and vegetables value chain system functions well. The strategy intends to facilitate the integration of skills development into horticulture value chain development policies, thereby ensuring that the supply of skills is tailored not only to meet the skills demand of the fruit and vegetable value sector, but also to engineer the necessary growth in productivity which when sustained, will produce sustained decent employment. The Strategy was developed under the framework of the Skills Anticipation component of the Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) Programme. SIFA (2019–2022) was a programme of the African Union Commission and African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD), assisted financially by the German Government and European Union. AUDA-NEPAD partnered with the ILO to build the skills anticipation capacities of African Union Members States, as a means for improving the development of evidence-based skills policies, strategies and implementation.