Madam Speaker, the national critical skills audit which was carried out from December 2017 to April l2018, showed that although our national literacy is over 94%, the national skills levels are at 38%. Remember production of goods and services can only happen when there is both knowledge and skill. Skills development has therefore become one of our main focuses as a nation. The design of our manpower planning and development system is our prime target for us to get out of poverty and move Zimbabwe to prosperity.
The purpose of the Bill – as a result of the foregoing, there is therefore an urgent need to amend the Manpower Planning and Development Act for the modernisation and industrialisation of Zimbabwe. The purpose of the Bill is to provide for the following:-
- To transfer the employees of Tertiary institutions from the Public Service Commission to State employees in a similar category to State University employees as this conforms to international best practice and it is in our interest as a nation.
- To provide for the strengthening of the Act with regard to quality control of professional bodies that engage in manpower development, science and technology as well as Manpower training institutions so that training and registration of professionals can be quality controlled under the Act and to align this Act to the Constitution.
- To provide for quality control to all tertiary training institutions, science and technologies institutions and professional bodies that they are quality administered under the Act.
- To ensure that all qualifications obtained in all higher and tertiary institutions lead to the production and goods and services for the industrialisation and modernisation of our nation.
- To entrench the Act in all manpower development issues and to strengthen the control and application of science and technology for the modernisation and industrialisation of Zimbabwe.
The objectives Madam Speaker, the Bill seeks to promote the development and implementation of the national skills planning and development strategy; to promote universities, technical, teachers and vocational education that leads to the production of goods and services; to promote the operational independence of technical and vocational institutions and teachers college in the way universities are; promote engineering and innovation for industrialisation and modernisation through research institutions and institutions of higher and tertiary education.
Going to principles Madam Speaker;
Principle number 1 is to achieve the transfer of tertiary education employees from the Public Service Commission to State institution employees. In order to follow and comply with international best practice in relation to academic freedom and academic integrity for industrialisation, modernisation and attainment of vision of 2030 and beyond, the Ministry requires that all tertiary education institutions employees be transferred from being public service commission employees to state granted institution employees so that they are just like state university employees.
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