Kagem Collaborates with Zambia’s Govt to Build $2.5M Chapula Vocational Training Center
On 27 September, Kagem Mining Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Zambia committing to fund the construction of the Chapula Vocational Training Centre in Lufwanyama, that will enable local people to acquire skills to improve their employability.
The training centre is a pivotal project and, at an estimated cost of ZMW 52,750,000 (USD 2.5 million), demonstrates Kagem’s commitment to supporting the regional and national economic development and helping create successful and independent communities in its area of operation.
With a curriculum being designed to align with industry demands, the Chapula Vocational Training Centre will offer a diverse array of courses, with carpentry, plumbing, heavy earth moving machinery, computing and information technology (IT) skills training proposed.
Kagem is partnering with the Ministry of Technology and Science and, the Ministry of Agriculture to facilitate critical aspects of the initiative’s implementation, such as access to suitable land and comprehensive assessments to identify other specific courses that will best serve the needs of local communities.
Speaking during the MoU signing ceremony, in Lusaka, the Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Reuben Mtolo Phiri MP said, “The land on which the training centre will be constructed has been made available by the Centre for Horticultural Training under the Ministry of Agriculture.”
He also expressed high hopes for the success of the centre, “We are also complimenting efforts in ensuring that our citizens, especially the youth, are empowered with practical life skills.”
Speaking at the same event, Minister of Technology and Science Hon. Felix Mutati MP said the MoU was a good example of effective public private partnership adding that his ministry’s goal was to take digital liberalisation to the people of Lufwanyama through the centre: “You cannot achieve transformation of the economy if you do not decentralise. What we are doing today is taking a centre of excellency to a rural part of Zambia.
Distributing the resources of this country to include our boys and girls in Chapula. Let us empower future change-makers who are going to walk a different path enabled by technology.”
Kagem’s Head of Human Resources, Dr Wesley Chishimba, said that Kagem was pleased to partner with the Zambian government to better the lives of people – particularly the young – in its area of operation through the funding of various community activities.
“The issue of unemployment has long been recognised as a matter of concern – especially among young people. At Kagem, we are hopeful that by setting up Chapula Vocational Training Centre, our young people will feel empowered through gaining relevant and useful skills that will enable them to pursue job opportunities of their choice. We see the VTC as being instrumental in fostering the growth of the private sector,” he said.
Chapula Vocational Training Centre will be built on land that has been made available by the Centre for Horticultural Training under the Ministry of Agriculture, and will be located nearby the Chapula Secondary School, which was built by Kagem in 2016.
Once the construction of Chapula Vocational Training Centre is completed, the centre will be handed over to the Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) who will conduct the training for local young men and women.
