Human development is one of the pillars of Botswana’s Country Partnership Strategy with the World Bank (2009–13). The Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) is in line with Botswana’s “Vision 2016,” which, in terms of human development, envisions the transformation of Botswana to “an educated and informed nation” and to “a prosperous, productive and innovative nation” as two key cornerstones of the strategy. In line with these objectives, the World Bank with support from the Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) embarked on analytical study entitled “Skills for Economic Growth and Diversification in Botswana.” The work is informed by Botswana’s need to diversify its economy to facilitate stronger, more sustainable economic and employment growth and, concurrently, equip its workforce with a variety of skill sets that meet employer needs.

The objective of the exercise is to provide the government of Botswana with concrete suggestions for policy interventions that strengthen the skills base of the workforce and thus facilitate economic growth, diversification, and employment. The recommendations offered by this and the other notes that make up the study, are based on analyses of available data and international best practices. Four policy notes were developed, each of which touches on crucial aspects of strengthening the country’s skills base: “Raising Botswana’s Human Resource Profile to Facilitate Economic Diversification and Growth” (note 1), “Labor Market Signals on the Demand for Skills” (note 2), “Skills Needs of the Private Sector” (note 3), and “Skills Implications of Botswana’s Diamond Beneficiation Strategy” (note 4). The key findings and recommendations of these four notes were then integrated into a short Summary Report.