Barclays to train 3,3350 student in new scheme

Barclays Bank managing director, Mr Abdi Mohamed (left), addresses participants during the official launch of the bank’s “Ready to Work” program in Dar es Salaam yesterday. With him is the Principal of Higher Education in the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocational Training, Lazaro Malili. PHOTO | THE CITIZEN CORRESPONDENT

What you need to know:

The bank’s managing director, Mr Abdi Mohamed said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the free online skill-building training programmes, will be conducted through a new project that is known “ready to work”.

Dar es Salaam. Barclays Bank Tanzania will train a total of 3,350 college finalist students in a period of three years as it seeks to equip them (the students) with what it takes to prosper in the entrepreneurial and employment spheres.

The bank’s managing director, Mr Abdi Mohamed said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the free online skill-building training programmes, will be conducted through a new project that is known “ready to work”.

These students will be among the beneficiaries of a total of Sh201.66 billion which the Barclays Africa Group Limited (BAGL) has aside this year to empower and finance small and medium entrepreneurs across the continent.

“We are going to work hard to ensure that our financial capacity reaches the graduates especially those who went through our “ready to work-shared growth program,” he said. Earlier, the principal for higher education from the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Vocation Training Mr Victor Malili said the program will minimize challenges related to work and entrepreneurial skills among graduates.

“Employers fail to employ some fresh graduates because the latter do not have the required skills to perform in the advertised tasks….with this programme, such challenges will be minimised,” he said.

The figures he produced indicate that 13.4 per cent of youths aged 15 and 34 years are unemployed.

Things are made complex with the increasing trend of rural-urban migration.

In urban areas, youths unemployment rate stands at 22.3 per cent while in the rural, where a majority of the people engage in farming, the rate is at 7.1 per cent.