About 4,800 higher education students will have career guidance and skills enhancement services for employment, as part of the implementation of a career development program.

The initiative was recently launched by the US government, in partnership with the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), UniPúnguè and the Higher Polytechnic Institute of Manica, with the aim of promoting access to quality employability services through career development centers at these institutions.

The program, budgeted at around two million US dollars, also foresees a dialogue with the labor market, namely, the Government, training institutions and the productive sector, in order to allow a better vocational orientation, insertion and professional careers for the beneficiaries.

The career development centers will be located at each of the program's three partner institutions and will become operational starting this year.

Of a universe of more than 221,000 higher education students in the country today, about 24 percent will be able to access these services in the next four years.

According to Amália Uamusse, UEM's academic vice-rector, the initiative is a qualitative leap for the way the institution relates to employers, students, and graduates.

"The plan will allow graduates to stand out in the job market, bringing with them a set of knowledge, ways of being, and information that will add value to the employing institutions to which they are headed," he stressed.

For her part, Helen Pataki of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said that the initiative will help bridge the gap between youth and employers by providing cadres with skills necessary for both to succeed.

The official launch of the program is planned for the first quarter of this year and its implementation will take place incorporating a number of activities such as consultation and studies on the employability of graduates.