Govt to place 300 000 graduates on jobs

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GOVERNMENT has through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, started creating a database of all graduates dating back to 1980 in bid to place them on jobs locally and abroad.
(File Photo): University of Zimbabwe graduates
(File Photo): University of Zimbabwe graduates

GOVERNMENT has through the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development, started creating a database of all graduates dating back to 1980 in bid to place them on jobs locally and abroad.

BY NQOBILE BHEBHE

It is estimated that over 300 000 students were churned out of schools, colleges and universities every year to join millions others already unemployed.

Yesterday, the Higher and Tertiary Education ministry appealed to all unemployed graduates to register to be considered for job placements.

“The Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development is in the process of creating a database of all personnel who graduated from the county’s institutions of higher learning and those who were trained abroad since 1980 to date,” the statement read.

“All those who graduated in universities, polytechnics or teachers’ colleges in Zimbabwe or graduated from any other university outside the country and working in or outside Zimbabwe should register with the Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development. The database will be used for job placements locally or abroad.”

Many graduates from Zimbabwe’s tertiary institutions have lost hope of ever getting formal employment, as the economy continues to shrink as companies were either downsizing or closing down, sending thousands of workers out of employment, making it virtually impossible for school leavers to get jobs.

Experts have blamed the high unemployment rate on unfriendly policies adopted by President Robert Mugabe’s Zanu PF administration over the years.

Independent economists say Zimbabwe’s unemployment rate is at over 80%, although government has pegged the rate at 11% arguing that most people were now employed in the informal sector.