State-owned Technical Entrepreneurial and Vocational Education Training Authority (TEVETA) has provided apprenticeship tools worth K900 million to the 2020 cohort of apprentices and technical collages across the country.

Speaking during the official symbolic handover of the tools at Kapondo Community Technical College Mchinji on Friday, Minister of Labour, Agnes NyaLonje, said the tools will assist the TEVET graduates to become self-employed by growing their businesses thereby employ others.

“We provide these tools to you out TEVET graduates to assist you in your quest to become entrepreneurs, able to generate your own self sustainable income,” she said.

NyaLonje added that youths in Malawi are a biggest national resource with a huge potential if given the right support.

Through education including TEVET education, she said, there is opportunity to empower young people to act as agents of their own personal and national development.

According to her the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development advocates youth-centric approaches to development, adding that the SDG framework pays attention to youth education, health, employment, empowerment, security, equality and participation and the Agenda 2063 of the African Union echoes the same while at national level the Malawi 2063 is also youth focused as it espouses the ideals of youth inclusion, shared prosperity and commitment to addressing the key challenges and barriers to youth development.

She further said the 2013 TEVET policy emphasizes the need for the system to be more accessible, responsive and relevant to the labour market by enhancing the entrepreneurial culture and increasing production and productivity in both formal and informal sectors.

However, the minister said, to ensure that TEVET graduates are relevant to labour market, the policy underscores the provision of adequate and relevant training equipment and materials.

NyaLonje expected the tools will facilitate and improve apprenticeship training in technical collages, allowing the students to have an opportunity to access relevant hands on training in colleges as well as TEVET graduates to apply themselves more effectively within the industry.

The minister also laid a foundation stone to start the construction of the Kapondo Community Technical College.

TEVETA Board Chairperson, Don Whayo said the Institution fully recognizes government commitment to the promotion of technical and vocational education and training in Malawi.

“We recognize that government has entrusted us to champion quality technical and vocational training which will enable young people start their own business ventures,”he said.

Whayo said the Authority decided to procure and distribute the tools inorder to compliment government’s efforts towards empowering youths in the country.