By Kudzaishe Chimonera
Government says developing and harnessing human capital will be key to achieving its Vision 2030 targets as it launched a new programme aimed at strengthening skills development and global competitiveness.
Speaking at the launch of the Zimbabwe Global Skills Partnership Programme (ZGSPP), Skills Audit and Development Minister Jenfan Muswere described human resources as the country’s “most critical and dynamic asset”.
He said the ministry’s mandate was focused on equipping citizens with relevant competencies through continuous training and structured skills assessments.
“Our primary focus is that we upskill, we reskill and we also provide a framework as we do the skills audit,” he said.
The programme seeks to position Zimbabwe within the global skills ecosystem while strengthening domestic capacity. Authorities say aligning education and training systems with both local and international labour market demands will be central to driving economic transformation.
Muswere stressed the importance of collaboration between government, education institutions and other partners.
“How best do we harness global skills? And how best do we align our skills, our curriculum working together with other partners from Zimbabwe,” he said.
He added that intellectual capacity would play a defining role in shaping Zimbabwe’s development at national, regional and international levels.
The initiative also aims to address the long-standing issue of skilled workers leaving the country.
The government says it wants to turn “brain drain” into “brain gain” by tapping into the expertise of Zimbabweans in the diaspora.
“We must ensure that brain drain becomes brain gain,” Muswere said.
He argued that reliance on imports highlights gaps in local skills, underscoring the need to build stronger domestic expertise.
“What we import clearly defines our incapability in terms of the skills,” he said.
The minister also pointed to a shift in Zimbabwe’s education system, moving away from what he described as a largely supply-driven model towards one that responds to market needs.
“For most of skills development and education systems that had existed before… [they were] mainly supply-driven education, not demand-driven,” he said.
The Zimbabwe Global Skills Partnership Programme is expected to strengthen cooperation between the government and the private sector with officials saying it will help ensure that skills development is relevant, competitive and aligned with evolving labour market demands.
