Ministry of Education - National Curriculum Review Symposium, MICC, Lusaka, 1-3 June 2009
GABRIEL S. KONAYUMA
Department of Vocational Training and Training, Ministry of Science, Technology and VocationalTraining, Lusaka, Zambia; e-mail:gkonayuma@mstvt.gov.zm
Abstract:
A number of African countries that have embraced economic reforms have experienced a shrinkingformal sector. This has been due to privatisation of parastatal companies and state-owned companies.Zambia is one of the African countries that has adopted a market driven economy. This has led to thegrowth of the informal sector. A number of people in the informal sector lack adequate entrepreneurialand technical skills. The Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET)sector has been reformed to make it responsive to the changing scenario in the reformed economy.Entrepreneurship training for the formal and informal sector has been introduced in TEVETinstitutions. A number of organisations have been formed to provide training in skills required in theinformal sector. The TEVET Policy aims to improve technical training and vocational training andlink it to the requirements of the employment sector. The TEVET policy recognises the followingcategories of people in our society as the most likely to benefit the country from this training: schoolleavers (i.e. Grade 7, Grade 9 and Grade 12); employees in the formal sector; entrepreneurs, both informal and informal sector; the unemployed and underemployed – including employees in theinformal sector; women; and retrenches. Entrepreneurship training is integrated in TEVET curricula.A number of institutions are offering entrepreneurship training. Is this meeting the needs of both theformal and informal sectors? Are trainees becoming employers and starting their own enterprises or most still expect employment? Is the Entrepreneurship Training relevant to the market driveneconomy? This paper addresses these issues by examining relevant documents such as the TEVETPolicy, Training Policy, Vision 2030 and Entrepreneurship curricula.
Objectives of the Paper:
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To contribute to the development of strategic interventions that promote sustainable socio-economic development in Zambia;
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To assess how the TEVET Policy has addressed entrepreneurship training in Zambia;
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To identify how the country hopes to achieve a middle-income economy through strengthened entrepreneurship training;
Key words:
Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurship training; Curriculum; market driveneconomy.
INTRODUCTION
This paper looks at the status of entrepreneurship training in Zambia. It also examines thestrengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of entrepreneurship training in Zambia.Some promising practices of entrepreneurship training in Zambia. The paper then exploresthe relevance of entrepreneurship training in a market driven economy. The paper concludeswith some recommendations on how present initiatives in entrepreneurship training can beenhanced. The objectives of the paper are:
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To contribute to the development of strategic interventions that promote sustainabledevelopment in Zambia through an inclusive and accessible TEVT system Zambia;
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To assess how the TEVT sector has addressed issues of distance and e-learning inZambia;
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To identify what the country hopes to achieve through a strengthened TVET systemthat uses new ICT based solutions;
Gabriel S. Konayuma – Relevance of Entrepreneurship Training in a Market Driven Economy
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