. Shamenda

THERE is no doubt that the Government has placed emphasis in ensuring that the welfare of the youth is prioritised by putting in place policies which aim at improving their status in society.
The majority youth in Zambia have in the past not been able to contribute to national development as a result of various hurdles which have not facilitated their smooth participation despite being endowed with enormous talent.
The problems being faced by the youth start right when they are born up until when they complete tertiary education.
Not many manage even to go through the gates of Grade 12 as some, not by their fault, can’t meet the financial obligations attached to acquiring education.
The announcement by Labour and Social Security Minister Fackson Shamenda that the focus of the Government is to increase access to skills training for the youth to ensure that they actively participate in economic development is a step in the right direction.
Mr Shamenda further says that Government believes that this could only be achieved through a systematic expertise transfer in entrepreneurship and vocational skills training.
The Labour minister is spot-on when he acknowledges the importance of  systematic expertise transfer in entrepreneurship and vocational skills .
This linkage needs to be strengthened so that our youths can have what it takes to survive in the harsh industrial world after completion of training.
The move to increase access to skills training for the youth is highly commendable as Zambia has had a great deficit of such facilities.
What is more gratifying is that there has been a shift in the  approach from just providing skills training but also entrepreneurship and vocational skills which at the end would help the youth participate in the development process.
Zambia also needs a crop of youth entrepreneurs who will propel the growth of the economy.
It has been a norm that all graduates from colleges and universities want to go in the formal sector.
There are a lot of opportunities in the informal sector and the youth should be trained in a manner that shapes their academic stamina so that they are able to excel in the sector.
So the move by the Government to increase access to skills training for the youth is timely and its fruits would be seen in many years to come when the youth will no longer have a phobia to enter into the informal sector.
Zambia needs a vibrant youth who will be able to participate in the running of the economy both in the formal and informal sectors and this can be done when they are equipped with the necessary technical expertise.