Project for graduates, SMEs starts

Dar es Salaam. The Mzumbe University Dar es Salaam Campus College (MUDCC) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (Unido) on Friday launched a project that will link small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with higher learning graduates to mitigate the problem of unemployment.

The project dubbed ‘Enhancing Youth Employability and Entrepreneurship in Tanzania’ aims at providing young graduates with professional experience through working with SMEs as interns before they face employment market.

This internship programme will be undertaken between February to June with at least 150 graduates from different regions as the first batch that will determine the continuity of others after evaluation.

Speaking during the launch the MUDCC’s Principal, Prof Duncan Nyamsogoro, said: “This is a win-win project that will benefit both students and entrepreneurs because they will utilise knowledge and skills fresh from school.”

He added that students should be willing to open up to this opportunity and not just wait for white-collar jobs, instead explore other alternatives of their respective professions.

Unido representative Mike Laizer said: “We want to introduce the concept of intership to help youth to discover their potentials even before they face the employment market.”

He added that the programme will be fully monitored by MUDCC to help graduates from all universities countrywide grab the opportunity.

The Programme Leader, Prof Honest Ngowi, said the programme would be a platform to help graduates to learn about entrepreneurship practically which might help them develop their businesses afterwards and employ other people. “Doing this will help solve the unemployment problem permanently in the country.”