eBusiness Weekly
Note from ZNCC
A country or business organisation that lacks the necessary human, institutional and infrastructural provisions will always find it difficult to effectively and competitively participate in international trade.
To add on, issues pertaining to business strategies at the firm level and trade facilitation at the national level point to the effect that Zimbabwe faces some special difficulties that hinder the country from benefiting from the multilateral trading blocs such as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Accordingly, the key components for the efficient and effective functionality of an enterprise include the people, the technologies, the operating processes and business organisation, and business strategies.
A lack of a clear framework in the components mentioned will manifest itself in business capability gaps.
Business capabilities are a broad range of significant initiatives that businesses can do that contribute to their ability to achieve their objectives and effectively participate in domestic and international markets.
The focus is on the capability at the level of the business, not at the level of the individual or team.
Identifying capability gaps helps businesses develop benchmarks from which to grow and measure their operational performance.
A capability gap helps identify the need for additional capabilities, the need to rectify existing ones, and remove the redundant ones from optimum performance in the organisation.
On a sectorial level, business capabilities emanate from the capabilities of companies within that sector and additionally, what they can do better because of local suppliers, service providers, regulators, research institutions and other complementary organisations.
At the firm level, business capabilities are derived from the technologies and equipment, production and business processes, skills of the workers, work organisation, infrastructure (external and internal), knowledge (explicit and implicit), intellectual property, and connections to other organisations in the sector and value chain.
Taking Zimbabwe’s manufacturing sector as an example, the key business capability gaps are identified in areas such as production or manufacturing efficiency; manufacturing quality, regulatory compliance, and regulatory management; sourcing inputs; domestic and international marketing, including channel management; and product development.
The share of intra-African trade is expected to increase by about 40 percent by 2040. Given this estimate, there are skills implications of such projections.
Globally, there has been a rapid shift towards digitalisation of trade and growth in trade financial markets following the advent of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic which reshaped global trade and the way business is conducted.
About 76 percent of SMEs in Zimbabwe are lagging in terms of establishing digital footprints and utilising digital platforms. This is somewhat attributable to the skills deficit in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
According to the 2018 Zimbabwe National Critical Skills Audit, despite a national literacy rate of above 90 percent, Zimbabwe has an appalling deficit of skilled professionals, particularly in the engineering, sciences, technology, and agricultural sectors.
Zimbabwe is described as an agro-based economy, and in agriculture, the country has a skills deficit of 88 percent. The engineering and technology sector has a skills deficit of 94 percent while, in natural and applied sciences, there is a skills deficit of about 97 percent.
In business and commerce, relative to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, Zimbabwe is overproducing, and, therefore, has a skills surplus of 20 percent. The shortage of critical skills implies a lack of human capacity to develop and sustain internationally competitive products.
In operations, for example, the major gaps among firms are identified in quality, responsiveness in terms of delivery times and product variety, and implementation of regulatory requirements.
The majority of the products that Zimbabwe exports are primary commodities signalling a gap in the product development area which is critical for the launch of new and sophisticated products.
The products new to the firm, product improvement, and product innovation including technology transfer are critical for elevated trade within the African continent. Further, full compliance with regulatory requirements is critical for success in both domestic and foreign markets.
To minimise these gaps, a firm cannot do it alone.
Thus, a mutually beneficial relationship between employers and providers of education and training should be fostered. More automation means more automation technicians are needed while machine operators need new skills in automated machinery.
Automation also implies that fewer low-skilled workers are needed.
Transition to environmental sustainability requires a greener workforce that can develop and apply green technologies, contribute to the greener production process, and provide environmentally sustainable products and services. These firm needs can be attained if the providers of education and training are made aware of the industry’s needs.
Through Education 5.0, the Government is enhancing the collaboration between industry and tertiary institutions such as technical and vocational education and training (TVET) colleges to enhance the production of competent and skilled graduates that will enhance the reduction of such gaps.
Councils such as the National Manpower Advisory Council (NAMACO) and the Zimbabwe Council for Higher Education (ZIMCHE) are crucial in advancing collaboration between employers and the training and education-providing institutions in the country.
The Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund (ZIMDEF) has been instrumental in funding the development of critical and highly skilled manpower in Zimbabwe.
The lack of critical skills is attributed mainly to the supply-side constraints.
Such constraints include, but are not limited to, funding, relevance of the curriculum and qualifications, access to training, delivery and assessment practices, governance and stakeholder co-ordination, national skills policy and strategy, and industry-institute linkages and support for workplace/lifelong learning.
The transformation in Zimbabwe’s education system currently taking place from elementary to tertiary levels is anticipated to address these constraints.
The National Policy on Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) which was drafted in 2022 speaks to these issues and provides a clear roadmap to follow. The matter of importance will be on the implementation of the policy.
In conclusion, some of the key business capability gaps include operations, sourcing, logistics, sales and marketing, compliance with regulatory requirements, and value chain linkages.
Addressing business capability gaps as identified at the firm level will go a long way in enhancing the country’s competitiveness in the international market.
This article was prepared by the Zimbabwe National Chamber of Commerce for Business Weekly.
