The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) was this week expected to launch the first ever special sub committees on human resources, which were recently selected from three sectors entailing Health, Information Communications Technology (ICT) and Business.
The inauguration of the said committees follows a series of workshops that the council held recently in a bid to sensitize stakeholders on Human Resource Development Planning and solicit stakeholders’ advice and support. The sub committees will also serve as ‘technical committees’ of the HRDC whose members have been drawn from the private and public sector communities. One of their key role will be to provide a single link which focuses on identifying the country’s human resource development needs and designing a collaborative education and skills development response that will enable the human resource development sector to thrive and succeed.
The Telegraph has also established that the main priority of the special committees will be to produce sector specific human resource development plans that will ensure a direct linkage between the skills that are being supplied and what the economy requires. Speaking during one of the seminars held at Gaborone Sun recently, HRDC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Dr Patrick Molutsi admitted that there is insufficient collaboration and participation between the public, the private sector and Non-Governmental Organisations.
“The sub sector committees will serve as a platform to establish and manage a National Labour Market Information System and National Education and Skills Development database,” he said.
He added that the subcommittee stake holders will develop strategies to co-ordinate, promote and support Tertiary Education- industry link research and innovation activities. Molutsi said that the HRDC intends to formulate human resource development plans for key sectors of the economy with these different subcommittees through linkages with employers in the public and private sectors. He further said the HRDC will act as a supervisory agency to coordinate implementation, monitoring and evaluation with specific reference to human resource development, research, innovation and institutional capacity building.
“As a way of diversifying the economy away from mineral resources and tourism through human resource development, we would like to end up exporting skilled labour to the region as a member of the global village,” said Molutsi.
Through the Human Resource Development Act No 17 of 2013, the Government of Botswana established the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC), which became operational in November 2013.
