Africa-Press – Botswana. Minister of Education and Skills Development, Dr Douglas Letsholathebe has commended the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) board and management team for recognising the value of indigenous skills.
Giving a keynote address at this year’s three-day HRDC career fair in Francistown yesterday, Dr Letsholathebe said it was commendable that HRDC included the creatives industries through indigenous skills by providing complimentary stalls at the fair.
The minister said HRDC was also planning to do the same in Gaborone to showcase and share indigenous skills with young people in July.
“This shows that the HRDC is fully focused on its mandate because you embrace skills development in all its manifestations,” he said.
Dr Letsholathebe, who is also Tati East MP, informed the over 1 000 learners participating at the fair that the Ministry of Communications, Knowledge and Technology had pledged P200 000 worth of Internet access through the Botswana Fibre Network (BOFiNET) to ensure that fair attendees had Wi-Fi access.
“This is done because Internet is essential in this era to facilitate communication and integration and will also assist in the smooth running of the BHRDS,” he said.
He added that last year, the education ministry partnered with communications ministry to deliver a successful Makeathon, a two-day challenge event that connected young innovators with different backgrounds to develop Artificial Intelligence solutions for real-life business cases.
“This was a collaborative effort through the Botswana Institute of Technology, Research and Innovation, Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub and the Department of Research Science and Technology , together with UB, BIUST and the Botswana Chamber of Mines, among others,” he said.
The initiative, coordinated by HRDC and Botswana, he said showed the rest of the world not only Makeathon’s innovative and creative prowess but government’s efforts to reach new technological frontiers such as robotics and artificial intelligence.
“Through such initiatives, HRDC is part of the critical building blocks of transforming Botswana into a knowledge-based economy,” he said.
He also informed learners that the education ministry continued to bring ICT to the fore as an enabler and platform for mindset change.
Such a move, he said, was important because it addressed complex and dynamic landscape defined by economic shifts, technological breakthroughs and global uncertainties.
“To this end, my ministry has prioritised the use of ICT in the delivery of education and training and the SmartBots initiative, is a testament to this undertaking. This initiative is also being rolled out at brigades so that Technical and Vocational Education and Training purposefully stands out as an alternative pathway in the ministry’s multiple pathways agenda,” he said.
He explained that in order to achieve that, everybody needed to recognise that it was collective responsibility to instill a mindset of possibilities, resilience as well as lifelong learning in the hearts and minds of the learners and children.
He said mindset change was all about making a deliberate shift in thinking patterns and that in education, it meant changing views of learning opportunities including looking positively at TVET as an alternative pathway.
“Furthermore, mindset change in education entails fostering creativity, nurturing critical thinking, and instilling a love for lifelong learning. I will further submit that mindset change means looking beyond the skills and jobs you have always known, as well as the recognition that indigenous skills and other artisanal skills are equally valuable,” he said.
In his welcome remarks, Francistown mayor, Mr Godisang Radisigo said year’s fair theme; Mindset Change for New Opportunities in Career and Skills Development, encapsulated the essence of a collective mission.
The career fair which started on Wednesday ends Thursday.
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