A knowledge economy – one in which intellectual property is the basis of manufacturing production and driven by research and development (R&D) – has become a new measure for productive competitiveness. Over the years, the global economy has increasingly become a knowledge economy, as it has consistently been recognised that knowledge is important for economic growth and development. To achieve the knowledge economy, therefore, requires the availability of knowledgeable workers whose education and other competence and skills building remain important virtues.
Significant improvements have been scored in Zambia’s education sector with respect to the performance in quantity of pupils churned out over the years. The country achieved a near universal primary school completion rate at 91.8% for Grade 7 in 2016 in comparison to the progression rate which was less than half the pupils in 2010. Similarly, an average rate of 52.7% pupils passed Grade 12 examinations in 2016 in comparison to pass rates of 19.8% in 2010. However, the low completion rates at Grade 12 limit the numbers of students getting into universities.
Despite improvements in the grade 12 completion numbers between 2010 and 2016, Zambia was ranked number 90 and 89 out of 144 countries, in the capacity to innovate and in the quality of science and math respectively, by the World Bank in 2015. Showing that Zambia’s education system focused on skill sets that are less applicable for spurring innovation and industrial development leading to an increase in unemployment.
To address the challenges associated with unemployment in the country, Government has developed a number of strategic documents such as the Industrialisation and Job Creation Strategy (2013) and the Local Content Strategy (2018). In fact, objective number four (4) of the Local Content Strategy seeks to promote employment for Zambians through ensuring the enforcement of the Employment Act where skills are available.
However, implementation of objective four (4) of the strategy remains a challenge due to several reasons. The key challenge continues to be the non-availability of local expertise due to a mismatch between what is required by industry and the curriculum provided by academia. Companies therefore attract additional expenses to train their employees, creating an incentive for importation of expertise, at the expense of local labour.
Additionally, Zambia is dominantly an importer of technology and machinery. Hence, manufacturing companies are in many cases dependent on manufacturers of equipment from foreign countries for maintenance and repair.
To help bridge the skills gap, the Zambia Qualification Authority (ZAQUA) in 2021, launched the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the manufacturing sector, which highlights the key skills required by the industry. Aimed at development of local capacities relevant for industrial development, the initiative was deemed relevant as was learnt from countries such as China and South Korea that developed their local human capacities in their pursuit for industrial development.
Recognising that the knowledge economy requires availability of competent and skilled staff, the development of the NOS will help bridge the information gap between academia and the private sector, especially that the trainings are driven by the needs of the private sector, particularly the manufacturing sector in this case.
Decision makers should embrace initiatives such as the occupational standards within the employment laws to foster human development capacity and encourage industrial innovations outside of a traditional classroom. Since manufacturing is a skill to be learned, valued and improved upon from early childhood, universities should speed up the process of redefining their academic foci in an attempt to address the human capacity challenges Zambia is facing. Because skill and competence challenges facing the manufacturing sector in Zambia will require fundamental changes in the way universities train their students.
Given the traditional separation between research and teaching, with research carried out by national research institutions and teaching mainly by universities, there is clearly a separation that disadvantages universities from contributing to industrial development. To address this challenge deliberate interactions between universities, the private sector, research institutions and Government require enhancement. Partnerships among these various institutions can develop support for joint programs and allow for development of various innovations from research.
Additionally, increased research by students based on the needs of industry can also be enhanced. Further, effective training feedback systems need to be developed between universities and the private sector, passing information from private sector to universities on what curriculum works and does not work. Such a system becomes relevant for guiding the development of curricula. In addition, universities should give students more opportunities to gain experience outside the classroom. This can be done through compulsory traditional internships and research activities.
Cardinal to enhancing the knowledge economy in Zambia is the development of competent skilled and knowledgeable human capacity. The current gaps in Zambia’s education system in the nexus between higher education and industry, are an opportunity for Government and relevant stakeholders to develop a system relevant to employing a curriculum for human capital development and industrial growth. Once sustainable, the collaborative training approach will deter importation of innovations used in the manufacturing sector in Zambia, as development of human capacity will allow for the increased local innovation, while partnerships will lead to increased utilization of the local innovations.
