Aquaculture Technical, Vocational, and Entrepreneurship Training for Improved Private Sector and Smallholder Skills

Youth unemployment is high in Zambia and there are noticeable disparities between females and males in the labour force, and especially, a lack of females in formal employment and who have received fisheries skills training. The current technical education, vocational, and entrepreneurship training (TEVET) system in Zambia faces many challenges including developing youth technical, vocational, and entrepreneurial skills that are relevant to the private sector. In addition, there are poor linkages between smallholder fish farmers and the private sector that create challenges organizing smallholders for improved input supply, TEVET, aggregation and sale of their outputs, and for their greater participation in other aquaculture value chain activities. Smallholder production and productivity has noticeably declined over the past years and smallholders are becoming more excluded from the value chain.

The key project activities used by the project to address the problems identified and achieve the desired objective are summarized below: 1. Training students from NRDC using the upgraded curriculum, tools, and online training platform; 2. Students from NRDC gaining practical skills through internships specifically tailored to address the needs of the private sector; 3. Students from NRDC finding gainful employment with companies operating in the aquaculture value chain or set up their own aquaculture-related businesses. Attracting prospective students to apply to the fisheries/ aquaculture department at NRDC; 4. Scaling the upgraded fisheries/aquaculture package for adoption/modification by other TEVET institutes in Zambia; 5. Private sector linkages with and technical education, vocational, an entrepreneurship training provided to smallholder commercial fish farmers.

Activity 1: Training students from NRDC using the upgraded curriculum, tools, and online training platform Outputs 1: Upgraded curriculum (long- and short-term courses), training tools, online training platform, and a training of trainers manual to implement the upgraded package Outcome 1: 135 students trained have enhanced knowledge of aquaculture using the upgraded curriculum, tools, and online training platform Activity 2: Students from NRDC gaining practical skills through internships specifically tailored to address the needs of the private sector Outputs 2: Internship program document, assessment report to inform the design of tailored internships to fit the needs of the private sector and that are gender- and youth-responsive, and an aquaculture field training center located at NRDC Outcome 2: Internships of 135 students carried out successfully with over 30 private companies Activity 3: Students from NRDC finding gainful employment with companies operating in the aquaculture value chain or set up their own aquaculture-related businesses. Attracting prospective students to apply to the fisheries science department at NRDC Outputs 3: Internship review system and forms, assessments of the needs and aspirations of and barriers faced by women and female youth and gender- and youth-responsive marketing tools developed to attract more students, plan to link students to financial institutions who wish to set up their own aquaculture-related businesses Outcome 3: Contracts signed with private companies or new businesses opened along the aquaculture value chain after students complete their studies. An increase in the number of students applying to NRDC. Activity 4: Scaling the upgraded fisheries science package for adoption or modification by other TEVET institutes in Zambia Outputs 4: Plan to scale the upgraded fisheries science package to other TEVET institutions in Zambia Outcome 4: Two (2) additional TEVET institutes in Zambia adopt or modify the curriculum, training tools, online training platform, and internship program for integration within their institutions Activity 5: Private sector linkages with and TEVET provided to smallholder commercial fish farmers Outputs 5: Private sector landscaping and capacity needs assessments and development plans, smallholder fish farmer population census and cluster farmer identification and selection plan, fish farming systems analysis, smallholder training tools Outcome 5: 1000 cluster farmers identified, organized, and trained on TEVET and provided services by the private sector