The National Construction Industry Council of Malawi (NCIC) awarded foremanship certificates to 49 graduating foremanship students during a ceremony which was held at Lilongwe Technical College on the 2nd of March 2023.
Foremanship training is one of the several capacity building interventions undertaken by NCIC through its Training and Research Directorate aimed at promoting quality infrastructure development in the country as a contribution to the Malawi 2063.
Speaking during the event the Chief Executive Officer for NCIC, Eng. Gerald Khonje, encouraged the graduates to apply the knowledge acquired during the 12-months training period to address challenges affecting the construction industry in Malawi. He also emphasized the need to address corruption in the sector to ensure quality and resilient infrastructure as well as for the country to achieve meaningful inclusive development.
“As NCIC, we have put in place various capacity building interventions to enhance capacity of players in the industry, foremanship training is just one of them. As NCIC we are also advocating Good Corporate Governance in the Construction Industry to curb mismanagement of infrastructure project.” He expressed hope that the skills learnt during the training will not only enable them get employment but also foster ethical behavior which is one of the key ingredients to safe, quality and resilient infrastructure. He further urged women and young girls to come forward and be part of the sector by taking on technical courses that will enable them to contribute to the social-economic development of the country through their contribution to the built environment.
On his part, guest of honour at the event, Eng. Dr. Lloyd Ndau, who was representing the Chairperson of the NCIC Board, urged the graduates to use the skills they have acquired during their training to effectively develop the construction industry in Malawi. “Our new normal will have new problems that will result in new design and new construction solutions. This calls for a mindset change amongst all the players in the construction industry”, said Eng. Dr. Ndau.
Representative of the graduation students, Esther Kayakonera, thanked the Council for the opportunity provided to them to be part of the construction industry as well for the heavily subsidizing the course in order to encourage more girls to participate. She therefore called upon her fellow graduates to be good ambassadors of the construction sector and further encouraged youths to opt for vocational skills to position themselves for a New Malawi of inclusive wealth creation.
Ten (10) out of the 49 awardees, were girls a development which Eng. Khonje said was worrying as it showed that most women and girls still opt for white collar jobs leaving a gap for skills in the construction sector. He therefore implored upon stakeholders to encourage more women and girls to join the sector.