TEVETA FLAGS SKILLS CRISIS AFTER ZAMBIA IMPORTS 700 WELDERS FROM PERU FOR ‘COOLER BOX’ INSTALLATION

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Posted by admin on October 30, 2025 at 1:06 AM

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The Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training Authority (TEVETA) has raised alarm over Zambia’s critical shortage of skilled welders, revealing that over 700 Peruvian welders had to be brought in to install a massive industrial cold box at First Quantum Minerals’ Kansanshi Mine in 2024.

The 171-tonne oxygen plant container dubbed the “magical cooler box” by amused social media users became a viral sensation as it crawled across the country. But behind the humour, TEVETA says the episode exposed a deep skills gap that threatens Zambia’s industrial ambitions.

“We don’t have welders in Zambia. What we have are metal fabricators the ones that make your gates,” said TEVETA Corporate Affairs Manager Clive Siachiyako during a media training workshop. “If we didn’t get those welders from Peru, that container would never have worked.”

Siachiyako warned that Zambia’s inability to produce coded welders technicians certified to handle high-pressure, high-precision welding could derail progress in mining, energy, and manufacturing.

He attributed the crisis to years of neglect in technical training and a societal bias that views vocational education as inferior.

“If an engineer designs a building, that engineer will never build it. We need the bricklayers and technicians to do the actual work,” he said.

To address the gap, TEVETA is launching a coded welding training programme to equip Zambians with the skills to weld complex materials, including plastics. The initiative will be supported by industry partnerships and regional collaboration to raise training standards.

TEVETA Director of Development and Research Phyllis Kasonkomona echoed the concern, saying Zambia’s overemphasis on university education has undermined practical skills development.

“The mindset that we have developed has really killed programmes that can give us hands-on skills,” she said.