According to the Ministry of Agriculture, students who attend technical and vocational institutions are brilliant and will help the country achieve its goal of being a middle-income economy by 2035.
Gerardine Mukeshimana, Minister of Agriculture and Animal Production, stated that students who enroll in vocational schools will have’real business’ opportunities, particularly in agro-processing and food production.”You made the right choice. “Super geniuses, not poor performing students, are joining vocational schools,” the Minister stated.
Vocational skills are useful and the way to go now. Food production is always in need. Customers demand new culinary recipes all the time, and you can provide them. We want to challenge people’s perceptions that agriculture is only for the impoverished and the elderly. This is about to change.”
The observation was made at a graduation ceremony for 356 trainees from diverse vocational fields. They received their diplomas in milk processing, meat processing, animal feed production, hay and silage production, production and marketing, vegetable production and processing, and poultry husbandry, among other things.
Other skills acquired by graduates include field irrigation operation and maintenance, farm tractor and machinery operation and maintenance, agri-processing machinery operation and maintenance, and refrigeration and cold chain management.
“Because they have acquired skills, they are ready to compete in the labor market, and some are self-employed.” Some were trained by corporations, and this is an opportunity for employers to evaluate their abilities,” said Andrew Gashayija, team leader at Kilimo Trust Rwanda.
Kilimo Trust Rwanda, which conducted this program, is a non-profit organization that works on agriculture for development in East Africa.
“You have the needed skills, you can be trainers, go and work professionally,” Gashayija said, adding that 3000 more people will be taught in comparable professions by 2024.
