The Vocational Education and Training Authority (VETA) is using the ninth National Mining Technology Exhibition in Geita to showcase how vocational skills can help young people turn practical training into employment and business opportunities.
At its exhibition stand, VETA is displaying leather products including shoes, belts and handbags made by trainees, highlighting the growing focus on practical skills and the commercialisation of locally developed products.
Hamidu Shabani, a leather products instructor at VETA Dakawa College in Morogoro, said the authority was encouraging more people to enrol in vocational training to acquire skills that could support self-employment and income generation.
“VETA students are now trained not only to make leather products such as shoes, belts and handbags, but also to understand how to market and sell them,” Mr Shabani said.
He said VETA had expanded its efforts to commercialise products made through its colleges through Ujuzi ICL, a subsidiary company owned by the authority.
According to Mr Shabani, products made by VETA trainees and innovators from colleges across the country are sold through Ujuzi Shop, including a sales outlet at the Geita exhibition and another at VETA headquarters in Dodoma.
He said the initiative was intended to give trainees greater exposure to the market while demonstrating that vocational education could go beyond classroom training to create practical economic opportunities.
Mr Shabani urged Geita residents and other visitors attending the exhibition to visit the VETA stand to learn about available courses and training opportunities.
The exhibition has also drawn interest from visitors keen to see locally manufactured products and assess their quality.
Elias Makelemo, a resident of Geita Municipality, said he was impressed by the workmanship of the leather products displayed at the VETA stand.
He said the quality of the shoes, handbags and belts challenged the perception that high-quality leather products must be imported.
“I was impressed by how these leather products are made. The shoes, handbags and belts are well crafted and look like products from Europe, yet they have been made by VETA,” Mr Makelemo said.
The ninth National Mining Technology Exhibition in Geita has brought together institutions and stakeholders to showcase technologies, products and services while providing a platform for the public to learn about opportunities linked to the mining and wider industrial economy.