OAITSE MATHALA
Project Coordinator of the Kgwebo Thebe Student Consultancy Initiative (KTSCI) at the Botswana Accountancy College (BAC), Veronica Ofaletse has indicated that the project is on course. Ofaletse told Gazette Business in an interview that the KTSCI is a student entrepreneurial development initiative facilitated jointly by BAC and the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) which is rolled out under a Memorundum of Understanding (MoU) that was signed in February 2014.
The partnership falls within BAC’s wider community engagement strategy and signifies the institution’s commitment to forge strong ties with industry in order to expose students to industry experience and enhance their employability. The MoU is centered on capacity building for entrepreneurial development at a national level.
“With youth unemployment so high, we can’t as an institution wait for the private sector to provide employment for our graduates, we have the responsibility to equip learners with skills to be successful entrepreneurs. And our partnership with LEA affords us just that opportunity,” she said.
The MoU saw the BAC engaging 20 students in a 12-month consultancy pilot run that was done through their Business Hive from April 2014. “BAC selected 20 final year students and groomed them,” said Ofaletse, noting that LEA provided four of their clients and the students were enrolled with them.
She said the graduates would then work with the LEA clients to identify challenges that hinder their success. The students would then make recommendations and present them to the client in the presence of both the BAC and LEA.
One challenge that Ofaletse noted was cases where students make recommendations but clients cannot implement them because they do not have the resources.