The National Youth Civic Service programme, announced in the Budget Speech 2018/2019, is a 12-week youth development programme targeted at empowering some 1,000 young people aged between 17 and 25 years. The aim is to develop a confident, resilient and daring youth community while further promoting a spirit of entrepreneurship, citizenship and social entity. This national programme is being implemented by the Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Recreation in collaboration with the HRDC and other stakeholders.

Youth coaching under this programme involves the use of several tools including interactive thematic sessions, group works, friendly competitions, field visits, community projects, residential camps as well as sports and recreational activities.

The HRDC is a member of the Managing Committee of the NYCS and is involved at all stages of the programme, that is, from the setting up of appropriate structure to implement the NYCS up to the completion of the different respective cohorts. The HRDC also funds a one-lump stipend of Rs 5,000 to each participant who successfully completes this programme.

The Human Resource Development Council, in collaboration with the Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, is presently in the process of preparing the National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS) 2019-2023. To this end, the HRDC is organising two thematic workshops as follows:

Theme 1: The role of education and training system in skills formation

This theme will explore the role of the education and training system in skills formation. It will also look at the role and responsibilities of industry in skills formation. This theme is relevant to the movement of Mauritius towards knowledge-based economic development which requires the transition to a more effective and responsive skill formation system.

Theme 2: Skills Development Support Infrastructure (Quality Assurance, vocational training system, funding, coordination, support, etc)

This theme will look at the institutional and systemic set-up supporting skills development locally and what requires improvement to face the upcoming future society and work.

The HRDC is inviting proposals from any person wishing to contribute to the development of the National Skills Development Strategy for Mauritius for 2019-2023.

For participation in the thematic workshops, contact the HRDC on 454 4009 or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. at latest by 23 November 2018.

Alternatively, any proposals can be emailed to the HRDC. Each proposal must be linked to one of the above-mentioned themes and must include the following: (i) the issue / problem; (ii) What is its impact on skills needs; and (iii) The suggested solution.

The main objectives of the National Skills Development Strategy for Mauritius 2019-2023 are to:

• Chart the pathway for skills development;
• Assess the current status and set-up of the skills development system in the country;
• Identify future skills development requirements in line with the vision of the government;
• Identify themes/areas in the skills development system that would require changing/improving; and
• Propose actionable recommendations that would improve the current set-up.

The HRDC in collaboration with CASCAID Ltd, a UK-based consultancy firm, conducted a career counselling assessment exercise from November 2016 to September 2017. One of the main recommendations of this exercise was to empower Senior Educators in careers education.

In this context, a training programme, targeted at 170 Senior Educators from both public and private secondary schools, was mounted by the HRDC in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education & Scientific Research, the Careers Guidance Service Unit and other stakeholders.

Following training for a first batch of 70 Senior Educators in October 2017, the HRDC organised a three-day training for the second and last batch of 100 Senior Educators as follows:

Dates: 30th, 31st October and 01st November 2018
Time: Full-Day
Venue: BPML Conference Hall, CyberTower 1, Cybercity, Ebene

The objective of this training programme is to empower Senior Educators to provide careers education and career information to their students. The interactive and workshop-style programme involved interventions from both public and private sectors, supported by appropriate documentation. At the end of the training programme, the Senior Educators were invited to devise a customised career education plan with initiatives and activities for their schools.

Employers contributing to the HRDC Training Levy are kindly informed that the National Budget 2018-2019 has brought the following changes to the HRDC Training Grant Incentive Scheme.

In line with Government`s vision to encourage employers to invest in continuous professional development of their employees for productivity gains, the percentage (%) refund of training cost has been revised.

The revised rates of refund of training cost for employers in their respective categories are as follows:

The above revised rates of refund for training cost are effective for courses starting as from 9th August 2018.

Note: All other terms and conditions remain unchanged.

The HRDC has conducted a survey on the skills requirements for 10 key economic sectors in Mauritius under the Skills Studies 2017/2018. The report for each sector will be published after consultation with industry operators and other stakeholders. As part of the validation process, the following presentation sessions have been scheduled:

Venue: HRDC Lecture Theatre, 4th Floor, NG Tower, Cybercity, Ebène

The objectives of the Skills Studies 2017/2018 are to assess the country’s skills requirements in the short, medium and longer term; to identify the critical skills and hard-to-fill posts in different sectors; and to assess the degree of mismatch in skills across occupational groups.

The HRDC invites input from stakeholders on its Skills Study Report 2017 for the ICT sector. This public consultation exercise is part of the ongoing validation process.

All comments should reach the HRDC by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by Friday 13 April 2018 at latest.

For any information or queries, please contact Ms Leena Ramtohul at 454 4009.

The Graduate Training for Employment Scheme (GTES) is a budgetary measure being implemented since 2015 by the HRDC in close collaboration the Ministry of Education & Human Resources, Tertiary Education & Scientific Research and the private sector. The objective of the GTES is to contribute towards tackling the issue of skills mismatch among unemployed graduates by providing them with skills that match the requirements of an evolving job market.

In order to meet its need for qualified software engineers, Accenture Technology in collaboration with the University of Mauritius has developed a full-time MSc course in Applied Software Technologies under the GTES. 30 unemployed graduates with a non-IT background are following this 12-month Conversion Course at UoM, comprising placement of 6 months at Accenture Technology. The graduates will be completing their training in January 2019.

The main objective of this programme is to equip the trainees with software engineering skills in the following industry relevant technologies: Java, Oracle, SAP, Digital Technologies, Salesforce, Artificial Intelligence, Microsoft Technologies, with applied practical experience. After their training, successful graduates will be appointed as Application Development Associates.

The Honourable (Mrs) Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, Minister of Education and Human Resources, Tertiary Education and Scientific Research, will officially launch this training and placement programme during a ceremony being held as follows:

Date:    Thursday 01 March 2018
Time:    13 30 hrs
Venue:  R Burrenchobay Lecture Theatre, University of Mauritius, Réduit

The Mauritius Film Development Corporation (MFDC) in collaboration with the University of Technology, Mauritius (UTM) is offering a series of short courses under the National Skills Development Programme (NSDP) in the following fields as from February 2018:

• Camera & Lighting
• Sound for Cinematography
• Film Editing

Each course is of a duration of one month followed by a work placement of one month at the MFDC. Trainees under the NSDP will receive a monthly stipend of MUR 6,000 inclusive of travelling allowance.

Eligibility: Form III.

Seats are limited. Consult the link below for detailed eligibility criteria & registration:

http://nsdp.hrdc.mu/index.php/training/film

The Ministry of Ocean Economy, Marine Resources, Fisheries and Shipping in collaboration with the HRDC is organising an Open Day to invite unemployed youngsters to register for training for possible career opportunities in the Cruise Sector. The Open Day will be held as follows:

Date:   Tuesday 28 February 2017
Time:   10 00 hrs to 16 00 hrs
Venue: Conference Hall, Cyber Tower 1, Cybercity, Ebène

The Open Day will include presentation sessions throughout the day by the Mauritius Maritime Training Academy (MMTA), MITD, HRDC and recruiters. The presentation sessions will be held at 10 00 hrs; 11 30 hrs; 13 30 hrs and 15 00 hrs.