Skills key to economic growth – Luering

MARGARET CHISANGA
Lusaka
EMPLOYER-BASED training and transfer of practical skills will lead to higher productivity across all industries and contribute to fulfilment of Government’s plan of economy growth through home-grown production.
“Therefore, it is essential that our technical team is up to date with the latest technologies in our industry and on par with international standards with regard to know-how and skills,” Drake & Gorham managing director Mark Luering said.
Mr Luering was speaking during a graduation of a team of technicians from Drake and Gorham as well as recent graduates from Northern Technical College who had undergone an advanced employer-based training in advanced air conditioning.
Mr Luering said the institution has a focus on ensuring all employees, about 100 of them, are aware of the latest technology, and undergo on-the-job practical trainings.
In the recent trainings, Drake & Gorham and Fountain Gate Crafts and Trade School Limited, in collaboration with TEVETA, conducted the skills-based employer-based training (EBT) programme in advanced air conditioning, with a focus on variable refrigerant flow (VRF) and variable refrigerant volume (VRV).
“The course was funded by Drake and Gorham and TEVETA under the Skills Development Fund and was targeted to upskill 35 Zambian air conditioning techincians from Drake and Gorham as fresh graduates from Northern Technical College in Ndola.
The key trainer was conducted in partnership with Thomas Urstadt, an expert air conditioning engineer from Germany, who was made available for the training with the support of Frankfurt Chamber of Skills and Trades in Germany.
“We hope that his pilot project we have initiated with Fountain Gate School and TEVETA will be an incentive for other players and companies in our industry to similar upskilling trainings for not only their own staff, but for young graduates entering the industry as well,” Mr Luering said.
Engineer Gelson Maluma, head of school at Fountain Gate Crafts and Trades School said the institution, developed with the support of the German government through the Chamber of Skilled Craft in Frankfurt Rhine Main, said the two institutions have planned further vocational trainings in 2024 through the TEVETA Employer Based Training schemes.
Mr Luering said Drake & Gorham has offered employment to the graduates from Nortec who underwent the training.
One of the graduates, Mwamba Mukuka, urged other companies to emulate the institute through offering some graduating students employment opportunities as the gesture will be a great motivation for students.