HRDC SIGNS AN MOU WITH BUSINESS BOTSWANA

In a quest to establish common intentions, ascertain expectation and cement future dealings, the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) and Business Botswana (BB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Wednesday, 30^th June 2021. The purpose of the MoU signing ceremony was to enhance the long lasting partnership with Business Botswana (BB) as the voice of the private sector, as they are critical stakeholders in the Country’s human capital drive.

In appending the signatures that sought to liven-up the MoU, HRDC was represented by its Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Meshack Tafa, while Business Botswana was represented by its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Norman Moleele. The MoU seeks to provide a collaborative framework within which the two parties can identify mechanisms for aligning organisational activities, information and resource sharing as well as to facilitate effective implementation of the mandates for both parties by clearly defining the areas of collaboration.

In his remarks, Mr Tafa stated that the signing of the MoU had come at an opportune time after the Human Resource Development Council in collaboration with the Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development and the Directorate on Public Service Management launched the Botswana Labour Market Observatory Website Jobseekers platform. The platform is an integration of the Unemployed Graduate Database (UGD) which was housed at DPSM and Job Seekers Database that was managed by Ministry of Employment, Labour Productivity and Skills Development (MELSD). The Unemployed Graduate Teacher Database from the Ministry of Basic Education (MoBE) has also been recently incorporated into the Job Seekers Database.

Mr Tafa remarked “The platform is designed to provide efficient quality services for job seekers and employers by enabling employers to post available vacancies in their companies/organisations for job seekers to view and apply for these opportunities”. The MoU, therefore implores Business Botswana as the voice of the private sector to advocate for the utilisation of the Jobseekers Database as the first stop - shop for recruitment by private companies.

This in particular, refers to entry level positions and placement of job vacancy adverts in the LMO JSD in order to facilitate the matching of the jobseekers with the available vacancies. The initiative will assist in opening up of job opportunities. “The MoU will not only greatly enhance the relationship between HRDC and Business Botswana, it will also serve as a sound productive movement for the private sector’’ said Mr Moleele in his remarks at the signing ceremony.

Furthermore, he mentioned that the private sector through Business Botswana has been instrumental in improving the doing - business and competitive environment in Botswana. Therefore, the partnership between HRDC and Business Botswana will act as a catalyst for growth in the economy especially considering the mandate of HRDC which entails providing policy advise on all matters of the National Human Resource Development Strategy (NHRDS).

Giving a vote of thanks, the Deputy Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Tertiary Education, Research Science and Technology, Ms Tebogo Bagopi implored HRDC to prudently work together with the private sector to provide world class education as that will accord Batswana employment opportunities internationally and further allow them to embrace the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). She further emphasised the need for the private sector and the Education and Training Providers to utilise the relationship between HRDC and Business Botswana by developing structured work placement programmes.

This initiative will act as a requirement for the completion of educational attainment particularly on internship apprenticeship and attachments as that will automatically accord the youth wider job opportunities. Therefore, the MoU will provide a general framework for facilitating collaboration and cooperation between HRDC and Business Botswana. The signing marked the consolidation of a true partnership and was also a reflection of the commitment of Government, the private sector and other stakeholders to jointly promote employment opportunities and decent livelihoods for all in Botswana in line with the aspirations of Vision 2036.