21 Oct 2024

First Lady, Ms Neo Masisi has implored the nation to shift with changing situations so as to achieve great milestones.

Speaking during the Training Manufacturing Construction Mining Expo 2024 in Mahalapye on Friday, Ms Masisi said Batswana should not box themselves as individuals and families but should move with changing times as life is not static.

She said that this would allow people to be more adaptive and relevant.

“If you have a changed mindset, you’re more likely to be successful in making positive changes in your life,” she said.

First lady said she was traversing the country advocating for change of  attitude on issues such as HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence and use of habit forming drugs.  She said the family was a foundation that molded children into responsible citizens.

Therefore, she said the same principles applied to education as it started from the foundation.

Themed: Building Future Skills for Future Jobs Today, the event, Ms Masisi said, marked a new dawn as the country ventured into digitalisation and automation phases which featured in the National Transformation Strategy.

Furthermore, she said the strategy provided a foundation for mindset change and the need to have programmes, policies, institutions to move from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one.

She shared that this was reflected in government’s Reset Agenda and therefore it was imperative for training providers to include that in training programmes that addressed different skills.

This, she noted would ensure the country’s human capital asset was developed to be rated as world competitive.

She urged training providers to include both hard and soft skills, adding the government continued to enlist people for skills development which was a crucial aspect of fostering personal and professional growth.

Ms Masisi said such a move would assist people to reach their full potential and contribute meaningfully to the economy and society.

She encouraged institutions to collaborate with industries to align education with the needs of the demand market locally and in the international domain.

Moreover, she said the government was not leaving anyone behind and was using an inclusive approach of development in taking the country forward, citing affirmative action that afforded disadvantaged members of the society such as  remote area communities, widows, orphans, youth, people with disabilities and the needy to access equal opportunities to ensure their inclusion in the mainstream economy.

Ms Masisi shared that if women were educated and skilled they could contribute to household income and be better positioned to make informed decisions as well as becoming role models for future generations. ends