Lilongwe, March 27, Mana: President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera has encouraged the country’s youth to embrace a spirit of hard work, describing it as a blessing that helps keep them away from negative behaviors in society.
Speaking on Thursday in Lilongwe at the opening of the 2025 National Technical, Entrepreneurial, and Vocational Education and Training (TEVET) Conference, President Dr. Lazarus Chakwera emphasized that acquiring various skills is the key to achieving economic independence in the country.
He praised TEVET for its programs, noting that they equip young people with valuable vocational skills, preventing them from remaining idle without meaningful opportunities in their lives.
“Many people have ventured into vocational training at TEVET as they know that when one has skills it is easy for them to be innovative in different areas ,” said Chakwera.
The Malawi leader highlighted that lawmakers have passed a K8.076 trillion budget, but the funds are not readily available. He emphasised that only through hard work can the necessary revenue be generated to support the country’s development.
Board Chairperson for TEVET, Pyoka Tembo, said Malawian youth hold the key to Malawi’s economic transformation and people need to realize the importance of vocational training.
Tembo said Malawi is among a few countries in Africa that are yet to maximize the demographic dividend of the young generation.
He said, lack of modern infrastructure is one of the challenges affecting them to advance skills development in the country.
In his remarks, Minister of Labour, Peter Dimba, stated that the conference provides an opportunity for participants to celebrate TEVET achievements and milestones, as they train young people and equip them with vocational skills.
“Our country cannot develop without skilled labor , the government is committed to ensure that many young people have the opportunity for vocational trainings; since 2019 the number of students having bursaries in technical schools has increased from 2, 500 to 7, 000,” he said.
The conference has been organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, technical colleges, the National Planning Commission (NPC), the Employers’ Consultative Association of Malawi (ECAMA), the Malawi Confederation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (MCCCI), and other stakeholders.
The two-day event is being held under the theme “Enhancing Skills Development for Economic Transformation Towards Malawi 2063.”
