The European Union has expressed the need for the TEVET sector to critically respond to the demands of the private sector.

Social Sectors and Infrastructure Team Leader for the EU delegation, Virginie Lafleur-Tighe, said this during a TEVET stakeholders meeting in Lilongwe on 4^th July, 2019 where Skills and Technical Education Programme (STEP) and the Ministry of Labour, Skills and Innovation were collecting views on a number of issues affecting the TEVET sector.

Some of the issues discussed were; the setting up of a Monitoring and Evaluation system, the development of the new TEVET policy and Act, legislative framework, current and future industry needs in terms of skilled workers and a proposal for decentralized training institutions.

Lafleur-Tighe observed that an irrelevant TEVET system lets down Malawian youth in their aspiration to live productive lives and does not contribute to economic growth.

The European Union also said it will continue supporting Malawi’s TEVET sector in the coming years.

“In our next phase of support, we will be going further in linking up the TEVET and the private sector by directly assisting micro and small enterprises, in addition to continuing our substantial support to the TEVET sector,” she explained.

The Director of Technical and Vocational Training in the Ministry of Labour, Skills and Innovation, Aubrey Matemba, said government would ensure that TEVET sector is able to meet industry demands.

He said there are a number of areas that will be changed to ensure that graduates respond to the demands of the labour market.

According to Matemba, the changes would also focus on shaping the students into future successful entrepreneurs.

STEP recruited consultants that reviewed the current system and advised on areas that need reforms.

The meeting attracted representatives from the private sector, the academia, TEVET Authority and different ministries.

STEP, partially implemented by UNESCO, represents an investment of nearly K30 billion, as part of European Union’s wider objective of supporting education in Malawi as an essential part of promoting inclusive growth in Malawi.