The African Institute of Corporate Citizenship – AICC says Malawi needs to invest much on proficiency in order to achieve industrialization in the agricultural sector.

Executive director for AICC Felix Lombe told YFM that the status of running industries in Malawi is still facing hurdles as skill base remains a toll order.

In his reasoning, Lombe said the challenge is negatively impacting on agriculture such that agro-processors find it hard to invest in a country with low skill base like Malawi.

“Infrastructure and energy are mostly sighted as the major challenges but I should add here that when it comes to industrialization there are equally other burning factors and some of them are to do with skill base.

“As you know Malawi has a low labour base meaning that when you want to industrialize you may not be able to get capable young men who will be able to manage the process,” explained Lombe.

He stressed the need to up-scale the skill through vocational training among other means if efforts to achieve industrialization are to register a success.

“Sophisticated or even any simple industrialization needs skill but our education levels are not answering to the need for industrialization on the ground, we need to fine tune our skills so that we can answer to the demands and stimulate industrialization,” he said.