Seminar on Apprenticeship Programme to the members of The House of Representatives, Zanzibar

Zanzibar/Dar es Salaam (ILO News) On 16 August 2017 the Ministry of Labour, Employment, Elders, Youth, Women and Children (MLEEYWC), Zanzibar, in collaboration with the ILO and other stakeholders conducted an awareness raising seminar on quality apprenticeships in hotel operations for members of The House of Representatives in Zanzibar. The seminar which attended by more than 60 officials including 40 representatives, partners and stakeholders with the aim of builifng capacity and rising awareness to the members about the Apprenticeship programme in Zanzibar.

On his opening remarks Speaker of The House of Representatives, Hon. Zubeir Ali Maulid commended the members for participating in the seminar which is an indication of their commitment in supporting efforts for skills development for young girls and boys in Zanzibar. “…This special programme for our young men and women has come at the right time as our country is facing a very serious unemployment scourge for our youth in the urban as well as in the rural areas…” he said.

Success for this training programme is of utmost importance for the whole nation as it will provide the youth with skills, experience in the hotel and tourism sector, a sector contributing more than 70 percent of the country’s economy, also to enable them to access employment or even to be self-employed.

He also noted that the programme is intended to join the government’s efforts to combat the unemployment problem countywide and enable youth to lead secured and decent life.

“…Many countries have succeeded in such programmes…we are therefore obliged to advise our esteemed government and other stakeholders to combine theoretical and practical trainings not only in the hospitality sector but also extend to other sectors to enhance youth employability in the labour market…”

He further insisted that such seminars should be extended to other institutions as part of awareness raising, also to mobilize employers to support the programme through recruiting more youth to join practical training at their workplaces.

Fatma Gharib Bilal, the Principal Secretary for MLEEYWC, elaborated that the seminar is a great opportunity to grasp basic understanding of the programme and thus enhance ownership by key partners in Zanzibar. She noted that most hotels tend to employ foreigners due to their high level of skills particularly in the hospitality sector and therefore it is expected that the programme which to date has enrolled 56 apprentices in a pilot phase, will address the skills gap challenge and create more opportunities for young women and men from Zanzibar.

“…we need to change the mindset of our society with regard to young women working in the hospitality industry…this is an opportunity for them to attain decent jobs that will improve their lives…” she emphasized.

In her opening remarks, Mary Kawar, Director ILO Office for East Africa noted that peace and creation of quality jobs including apprenticeships are at the core of the ILO decent work agenda. She further called upon all key stakeholders to ensure more apprentices are enrolled as well as extension of the programme to other sectors.

Commenting on the programme, one of the benefiting apprentice, Hassan Ali Nasoro said that despite the short duration of the programme to date, some of them have already started receiving offers for employment upon the completion of training. “…we are greatly benefiting as we are already active in various hotels and our employers need us to work full time…it is also a great initiative to encourage entrepreneurship due to its hands on approach…” He emphasized.

The ILO through partnership with the government of Norway is supporting the above programme to enhance employability of youth in Tanzania. The programme is focusing on providing youth with an opportunity to acquire relevant skills that suit the requirements of the labour market thereby provide solution to the growing skills mismatch concern in the hospitality industry.

On his presentation Ashwani Aggarwal, ILO Global Team Leader (Work-based Learning & Apprenticeships) acknowledge the level of commitment shown by the Government of Zanzibar in speeding up the adoption and implementation of Apprenticeship Programme. “With the current structure and dedicated steering and technical committee it is open than this programme will be one of the most successful one”. He added that, “the political will of Zanzibar is an indication that the programme will be sustainable one”.