The National Council of NGOs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Dar based automobile company to enhance the skills of higher education graduates in the automotive sector in the country.

The MoU is also intended to protect the environment by promoting sustainable projects to encourage the use of automotive environmentally friendly technologies through green skills development programs for higher education graduates.

Jasper Makala, Chairperson National Council of NGOs (NaCoNGO) said yesterday that the agreement is a strategic one that aims to strengthen cooperation and solidarity between the Council and automotive investors GF Automobile representing non-government organizations in Tanzania Mainland.

“This agreement aims to strengthen cooperation in the areas of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and cooperation for the benefit of both parties.

“We aim to achieve mutual success in contributing to the economic development of the nation. We believe that this partnership will bring positive contributions to NGOs from the sustainability angle. "That sustainability will be achieved through private sector collaboration," he said.

He said the biggest challenge for NGOs is the sustainability of their work due to their reliance on foreign funding. Foreign aid is often not guaranteed, which complicates the sustainability of NGOs.

 “Currently, there are 10,735 active NGO members to the Council located throughout the country. GF will partner with them in corporate sponsorship where they will sponsor training for NGO staff to gain skills, workshops and conferences. For them, being our sponsors will be an opportunity to advertise their businesses,” he said.

For his part, Mujtaba Karmali, GF Automobile's Marketing and Communications Director, said that the company entered into the agreement believing that cooperation between Tanzanian companies will build a strong private sector to compete in international markets.

He said that the company has been participating in developing the skills of young university graduates to receive practical training in its workshops.

“Recognizing the concept of technical education that the government emphasizes for graduates to have skills, we have been collaborating with VETA to recruit students for apprenticeships in the automobile sector so that they can work practically and gain skills that are needed in the job market,” he said.

He said that the company’s goal in hiring VETA graduates is also to give them the opportunity to build a network with other employers so that when job opportunities arise, they can benefit.