On August 20, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a grant agreement with the Government of the Republic of Mozambique in Maputo to provide grant aid of up to 880 million yen for the Project for the Improvement of Vocational Training Centers.
The project will provide equipment and renovate the facilities at three vocational training centers in Nacala, Nampula Province; Quelimane, Zambezia Province; and Matola, Maputo Province, which are major cities in the northern, central and southern parts of Mozambique. This initiative will improve the quality of vocational training and contribute to the development of local industrial human resources.
Blessed with natural resources, Mozambique draws interest from foreign companies, including Japanese companies, as a target of investment, but the skilled labor needed by industry is severely lacking. Although the Government of Mozambique puts a high priority on industrial human resource development and works to improve the quantity and quality of vocational training opportunities, the vocational training centers have not been updated for a long time and cannot meet industry’s needs.
The project will provide the facilities and equipment needed to implement training courses in construction, welding, automobile maintenance and agricultural product processing, where human resources are particularly lacking. The project is thereby expected to make it possible to provide high-quality vocational training opportunities, promote the local industry through the development of human resources meeting industrial needs and contribute to economic stimulation.
In addition to this project, JICA is carrying out the Project for Enhancing The Professional Education System Model in Mozambique (2017–2021), technical cooperation to develop curricula and teaching materials for vocational training courses and to build the administration capacity at vocational training centers, and is thus providing comprehensive support for industrial human resource training in Mozambique.
Original source: JICA
Published on 21 August 2018
