Why the country needs to bridge skills gap in  sectors

The term has been used frequently in the 20th and 21st centuries, but the concept has existed in the West for far longer. ‘Modernisation’, ‘Westernisation’, and especially "industrialisation" are other terms often used while discussing economic development. Historically, economic development policies focused on industrialisation and infrastructure, but since the 1960s, it has increasingly focused on poverty reduction.  

Whereas economic development is a policy intervention aiming to improve the well-being of people, economic growth is a phenomenon of market productivity and increases in GDP; economist Amartya Sen describes economic growth as but ‘one aspect of the process of economic development’. Economists primarily focus on the growth aspect and the economy at large, whereas researchers of community economic development concern themselves with socioeconomic development as well.

Many institutions of higher education offer economic development as an area of study and research such as McGill University, London School of Economics, International Institute of Social Studies, Balsillie School of International Affairs, and the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs.

ONE of the strategic components in fostering economic growth and technological progress is investing on human resource development. Skilled professionals’ engagement in all walks of life has the potential in creating new innovations, hastening technology transfers and creating job opportunities. The secret behind their progress is skilled human resource potential.

To this effect, every year Tanzania allocates a huge portion of its budget for the education, health and agriculture sectors. The government has given due emphasis to human development.

Every year, the country invests on human resource development and graduates new professionals. Establishing vibrant learning institutions has the potential to transform the country and create far reaching impacts on economic development. Hence, the country's higher learning institutions, apart from their key duties, have to give due attention to the transfer of technology and new innovations.

Universities shall be a place where fate-reversing skilled human power is created. Higher learning institutions have to conduct trouble shooting researches in the priority areas. Besides, learning institutions have to nurture the culture of conducting research and easing the country's bottlenecks.

In light of this, Tanzania has placed focal attention on producing skilled human power development and expanding higher learning institutions all over the country. Currently, over 30 public universities have discharged their responsibilities focusing on the teaching learning processes, conducting problem solving researches and community services.

Nowadays, those higher institutions, excluding private higher learning institutions, graduate over hundred thousands annually. Hence, new graduates are expected to spur the county's economic development journey. Without skilled human power, the nation could not speed up its developmental pace. Besides, Tanzania has planned to throw poverty into the dustbin of history, undertake economic transformation and become a middle income country by 2025. It has endorsed conducive legal frameworks, policies and strategies. But, all these lofty development goals could be realized if the country produces enough skilled human power in respective fields of studies. The nation has planned constructing small and mega projects and improving citizens' standard of living. To do so, expanding higher learning institutions and producing human resource development have become a prerequisite agenda.

Above and beyond these, the nation currently needs more technology transfer and various expertise to leap to industrial-led economy. Of course, all these ambitions are gradual processes, happen step by step but their importance is unquestionable. Ethiopia has to produce its own skilled professionals in very sector. To become a competitive country in the global arena, it needs innovators, problem solver citizens, confident individuals and job opportunity creators. It as well needs climate change effect resilient or adaptive technology innovators and task forces that help increase production and productivity. Hence, this year's addition of graduates contribution will have immense importance in implementing the above mentioned objectives.