Attitude towards skills training: The case of final year adult education female students at the University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia

Zambia experienced an unprecedented increase in youth unemployment since 1991 when the country adopted the free market economy. This has led to numerous interventions by government and other stakeholders. The school system bears the blame. However, in the last decade the school system has increased access and equity due to opening and upgrading of many schools throughout the country. Nevertheless, this has proved futile in addressing the youth unemployment challenges facing the country. Several scholars and commentators on the subject have referred to skills development and acquisition as a solution to youth unemployment problems. This study examined the attitude of graduating adult education female students towards skills training on the leverage of the adage “when you educate a woman you educate the community but when you educate a man you educate an individual”. The graduating female students in adult education are expected to understand the value of skills training as they have been exposed to several youth empowerment strategies and programmes. A simple survey using a questionnaire was conducted among these students at the University of Zambia to establish their attitude toward skills training. The findings reviewed that female adult education students at the University of Zambia had a negative attitude toward skills training. They attribute this to its inability to attract good paying jobs in the formal sector and its being associated with blue collar jobs. The study concluded that skills acquisition should be emphasized in the lower levels of the education system; primary and secondary school. It is therefore, recommended that skills training should be an integral part of the whole education system continuum in Zambia in order to help learners appreciate it and what it can do in one’s life. The study is significant in that it can influence policy formulation and direction in order to address the high youth unemployment in Zambia.