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Some stakeholders in Maun have expressed concern that the Labour Market Information System (LMIS) that seeks to address challenges affecting the job seekers and the labour market will compete with privately owned businesses that offer the same service.
The system, developed by Botswana Institute for Technology, Research and Innovation (BITRI) through the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) monitors and reports on labour market patterns trends and provides guidance for planning, policy formulation and programme development for job seekers.
A consultative meeting was this week held seeking to appraise stakeholders on the scope and milestones of the system as well as to solicit their input for the success of the project that commenced in November 2022 and is to be completed by end of August 2024.
However, one of the participants, a self-employed entrepreneur Anthony Molosi complained that the system have same attributes with Jobs Botswana, an online platform which among other services links job seekers with potential employers.
Molosi said many graduates have over the years benefited from the same platform and he has seen many get employment through the help of Jobs Botswana. The same sentiments were shared by other concerned stakeholders who attended the meeting.
They concurred that the system is similar to some of the businesses done by the locals and they have since pleaded for considerable measures to be put in place so as to make sure such businesses do not suffer as a result of LMIS.
They further called for HRDC to engage with such businesses and if possible also consider collaborating with them as the latters have created more jobs for local graduates.
In response, HRDC Manager Kgomotso Watshwene said they are working towards engaging with such businesses for possible collaborations or assistance amongst each other because they serve the same purpose.
Watshwene said though the platforms may seem the same, LMIS is however of national interest as it operates in such a way that it accommodates many contributing aspects of the labour market challenges.
He said the system will provide reliable labour market information for various actors as well as career and policy advice to influence proper decision making across the country’s labour market ecosystem.
He added that the system would align education and training programmes with labour market needs explaining that their mandate is to transform the country into a globally competitive human resource hub by 2036. Watshwene stressed that they were striving to ensure that local education and training institutions produce globally competitive graduates who could work anywhere in the world.
He said they are currently advising on tertiary education financing as well as on workplace learning and skills required by the economy.
Meanwhile another participant, Kgosi Leretetse Mogalakwe has challenged HRDC to advice government on new strategies of funding students in universities and colleges who will turn into graduates that create employment rather than those who seek for employment from the same government as is the situation.
“Our education system is not helping this country because you will find a University of Botswana graduate roaming the streets for many years without finding any employment and this says a lot to our education system,” he said.
