Leveraging University-Industry Collaboration for Youth Skills Development: A Case Study of Tanzania Higher Technical Education

Abstract

PCF10 Sub-theme: Fostering Lifelong Learning // Youth unemployment and skills mismatch constitute a challenge for Sub-Saharan African countries, including Tanzania where approximately 900,000 youth enter the job market annually. With rapid technological advancements, fostering higher technical skills for the youth becomes exigent in Tanzania on its path from an agricultural economy to a semi-industrialized country. Previous studies indicate that equipping youth with high-level skills requires endeavours beyond university campuses. In the context of Tanzania, there is a dearth of literature on university-industry collaboration (UIC) for youth higher technical skills development. This paper presents a study of Tanzania higher technical education and examines the socio-political environment for UIC with a policy review, analyses the mechanisms of existing training-focused university-industry collaborative initiatives through website discourse analysis, and provides recommendations in leveraging UIC for youth high-level skills development. // Paper ID 2343