Tanzania's administration stated Wednesday that its third Five-Year Development Plan aims to cut unemployment from 9% in 2019 to 8% by 2025/26.
Developing skills is one of the measures the government will take to achieve that aim, according to Dr. Joyce Ndalichako, minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (Work, Youth, Employment and the Disabled).
As a result, as part of its initiatives to help young people develop their abilities, the government will also expand the number of graduates who receive on-the-job training.
“We believe that the solution to unemployment lies in adequate collaboration with employers through their association, ATE, on issues such as lack of skills for young people and on-job-training opportunities,” Dr. Joyce Ndalichako said.
She stated that the government aimed to expand the number of graduates with apprenticeship training to 231,000 by 2025/26 from 46,000 in 2019/20 under the third Five-Year Development Plan (2021/22 - 2025/26). The objective in training is to increase from 30,000 graduates in 2019–20 to 150,000 by 2025–2026.
The group has a three-year business strategy (2023–25), according to ATE board chairman Oscar Mgaya, that intends to encourage companies to support a competitive and sustainable economy. The proposal calls for encouraging firms to help workers obtain the skills necessary for the domestic and international job markets.
“Improving the laws and systems that regulate labor and employment issues to bring productivity to the workplace and continue to generally stimulate the participation of the private sector in developing the economy of our country in collaboration with various development stakeholders including the government,” Oscar Mgaya said.
Encouraging the private sector's understanding of and involvement in issues that affect many industries, such as achieving gender equality in the workforce, combating climate change (through the adoption of green transition initiatives), enhancing workplace health and safety, and assisting those with disabilities in finding employment opportunities.
“As chairman, my motivation with my new board includes continuing to push agendas to promote the country's economy and investment but also to contribute to the well-being of ATE. ATE in the recent period has been doing very well and this has even attracted external stakeholders to continue working with ATE, and now we have close cooperation with other Ministries such as the Ministry of Education through various projects of skill development in the country,” he said.
Given that they praised the government, it has committed to gradually lower the Skill Development Levy (SDL) from 3.5% to 4% through the Financial Law of 2023, lowering the cost of doing business for companies in the nation. Along with that, we applaud all the reforms to legislation, rules, and processes aimed at enhancing the business and investment climate in the nation.