COPPERBELT University (CBU) Chancellor Muyunda Mwanalushi has said universities should run programmes that are relevant to the country's needs and facilitate students' employment upon graduation.

Professor Mwanalushi said during the combined Africa University Day and CBU silver jubilee launch celebrations in Kitwe yesterday that providing the necessary programmes would deal with the problem of mismatch between skills imparted by educational institutions and the needs of the labour market.

"Africa is today faced with an enormous challenge of a surging population of unemployed youth.

"One of the major contributors to this problem is a mismatch between the skills imparted by our educational institutions including universities on the need of the job market," Prof Mwanalushi said.

He said on the other hand, the industry was obliged to make its skills requirements known to universities to enable the institutions to design relevant programmes.

Prof Mwanalushi said universities should partner with industry to prepare young people for work and, thereby, make them contribute to national development.