Maputo — The Mozambican government intends to invest 12 million US dollars in the rehabilitation of technical and vocational institutions.

According to Leo Jamal, Secretary of State for Technical and Vocational Education, who was speaking on Monday, in Maputo, at a Vocational Education Forum with the Productive Sector, the investment, which is scheduled to begin in 2026, is part of a project supported by several of the government's partners,

He explained that the investment is aimed at expanding training capacity and aligning educational offerings with the needs of the labor market.

"Mozambique has one of the highest growth rates of the young population in Southern Africa,' he stated. However, the economy still does not generate enough jobs to keep pace with demographic changes, making it essential to strengthen the link between training and employment', he said.

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"Training alone does not generate jobs, but it is true that properly trained young people have better employability prospects, whether working for others or creating their own jobs', he added.

According to Jamal, the ongoing reform introduces curricula based on skills standards defined with the productive sector. "This vision allows us to ensure that the skills learned in an institute or vocational training center are in line with the skills required in companies, factories, or any other production space,' he explained.

"This is a unique moment, in which the productive sector, training institutions, and partners can assess to what extent what we offer to the market is actually relevant', he added.

He revealed that the country currently has 264 institutions with the capacity to train 120,000 young people per year, "but we believe we can increase this capacity.'

Regarding training needs, Jamal said the greatest pressure is on the sectors of construction, agriculture and industrial maintenance.