By Wallace Mawire
Zimbabwe is expecting more than 1,000 delegates at the Africa Skills Week, scheduled to run in Harare from October 12 to 16, 2026, Minister of Skills Audit and Development Dr Jenfan Muswere has said.
Muswere said Cabinet had approved Zimbabwe’s bid to host the continental event, which will be held for the third time following previous editions hosted by other African countries.
“This third edition will run from the 12th to the 16th of October 2026 at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC), under the theme ‘Schemes for Resilient and Competitive African Industries: From Training to Value Creation’,” he said.
The sub-themes include youth and industrialisation, artificial intelligence and the skills revolution, private-sector and diaspora contributions to skills development, the green transition, and the transformation of training into value creation.
“We’re expecting about 1,600 delegates who will be attending. Obviously, this includes most of the ministers from various African Union member states. We’re also expecting a number of embassies representing their respective countries to participate,” Muswere said.
He added that more than 1,000 delegates had already completed accreditation, with the accreditation process scheduled to run from October 9 to 11, 2026.
Zimbabwe has also signed a host agreement with the African Union Commission to facilitate the event.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa is scheduled to officially open the continental gathering.
Muswere said Zimbabwe had invited all African Union member states and hoped to secure full participation, given the event’s continental significance.
“That’s our expectation, because we are dealing with a continental strategy. And, as you are aware, our national philosophy, which we are also expanding in terms of scope and variety, is to ensure that we leave no one and no place behind. The same applies,” he said.
He said the gathering would provide an opportunity for African countries to exchange ideas and share practical solutions to support the continent’s development.
Muswere said Zimbabwe expected robust, high-level debates and discussions to generate knowledge and data that would inform the implementation of a sustainable African skills strategy in support of the continent’s industrialisation agenda.
He said the event would also involve educational and training institutions, including the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) and institutions from Ireland, among others.
Primary industries, secondary education institutions and learners were also expected to participate, showcasing projects and initiatives developed through various educational programmes.
“I have had the joy of touring a number of projects that institutions of higher learning, as well as primary and secondary schools, have managed to produce,” Muswere said.
He said Zimbabwe was making progress in implementing heritage-based education, which emphasises practical, real-life skills that align education and training with industrialisation needs.
Muswere said the Ministry of Skills Audit and Development was helping to bridge the gap between education and industry by equipping people with the skills needed to become productive.
“You know, as a continent with over 60 percent of the population being young, there is no other major advantage that we have other than our human capital development, in order to provide the requisite skills that are going to power the development of our continent and also move our continent from a Third World continent to a First World continent,” he said.
He added that various institutions would play an important role in shaping Africa’s continental skills strategy, with a strong emphasis on skills development.