Njila.ai is being tested in Zambia’s vocational education system to help students identify their strengths, explore career pathways and prepare for employment as the government seeks to close the gap between training and labour market demand.
Zambia is piloting an artificial intelligence-powered career guidance platform designed to help young people understand their skills, identify suitable career paths and prepare for employment in key sectors of the economy.
The platform, known as Njila.ai, was presented to World Bank Managing Director of Operations Anna Bjerde in Lusaka on October 6, 2026, during a demonstration involving students from Evelyn Hone College.
Led by Zambia’s Ministry of Technology and Science, the initiative is being implemented within the country’s Technical Education, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Training (TEVET) system under the Skills Training for Results and Industry-Valued Employment (STRIVE) Project.
The pilot reflects the government’s efforts to address a persistent challenge facing young people: the difficulty of translating education and technical training into meaningful employment.
According to the Ministry of Technology and Science, the platform is intended to help students identify their existing skills, explore employment opportunities, understand employers’ expectations and determine the additional training they may need to compete in the labour market.
The initiative also seeks to strengthen the connection between vocational training institutions and industries that require skilled workers.
How Njila.ai is expected to support young people
Njila.ai is designed to provide career guidance through artificial intelligence, helping students better understand their abilities and the employment opportunities available to them.
Through the platform, users can explore possible occupations, identify relevant skills, develop job readiness and investigate potential career pathways.
The system is also intended to help young people prepare for recruitment by supporting activities such as CV development, interview preparation and understanding workplace expectations.
For students approaching graduation, access to this information could help them make more informed decisions about their next steps, whether pursuing employment, acquiring additional qualifications or developing specialised technical skills.
The platform is particularly relevant to students in vocational and technical institutions, where training is expected to prepare learners for specific occupations and industry requirements.
The Ministry has also highlighted the potential for AI-powered career guidance to provide training institutions with insights into labour market demand. Such information could help institutions identify skills shortages and adjust their curricula to reflect changing workplace needs.
However, the platform’s effectiveness will depend on the accuracy and relevance of the information it provides, as well as the availability of suitable training programmes and actual employment opportunities.
Closing the gap between training and employment
The Njila.ai pilot forms part of Zambia’s broader STRIVE Project, which aims to strengthen technical and vocational education and improve the availability of industry-relevant skills.
The programme targets more than 35,000 young people in advanced TEVET programmes and an additional 150,000 young people through trades and short courses.
These are broader STRIVE programme targets, rather than confirmed Njila.ai users.
The project seeks to address shortages of mid-level technicians and other skilled workers in sectors considered important to Zambia’s economic development.
Mining, agribusiness, tourism, energy and technology are among the priority sectors identified by the Ministry.
As these industries evolve, employers increasingly require workers with practical competencies that match specific job requirements. Yet young people may struggle to identify which skills are in demand, what qualifications employers expect and how to access available opportunities.
Speaking during the presentation, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Technology and Science, Dr Brilliant Habeenzu, emphasised that expanding access to training must be accompanied by stronger pathways into employment.
He said the initiative should help young people understand the skills they possess, where opportunities exist, what employers require and what they need to do to become job-ready.
The government also wants training institutions to become more responsive to industry needs rather than relying on static curricula that may not reflect changing labour market conditions.
Njila.ai is therefore being positioned not simply as a digital career adviser, but as part of a wider effort to improve the relationship between education, skills development and employment.
Students highlight the need for clearer career pathways
Students from Evelyn Hone College participated in the demonstration to show how the platform could support career planning and preparation for the world of work.
Speaking on behalf of the students, Mercy Maonde said many young people had previously struggled to understand where employment opportunities existed, what employers expected and how to plan their careers.
She welcomed the initiative and expressed appreciation to the Ministry, the World Bank and other stakeholders supporting its implementation.
Maonde described Njila as a tool that could help students gain greater direction and confidence as they prepare to enter the labour market.
Her remarks highlight a challenge that extends beyond access to education. Even when young people acquire qualifications, uncertainty about career options, recruitment expectations and the skills required by employers can complicate their transition into employment.
Accessible career guidance could help address part of this problem by providing students with information they can use when making decisions about training and work.
Nevertheless, career information alone cannot create jobs or guarantee that students will secure employment. Its value will ultimately depend on whether the guidance leads to better decisions, relevant training and stronger connections with employers.
Can AI make vocational education more responsive?
One of the potential benefits of Njila.ai is its capacity to support institutions in understanding the skills students possess and how those skills relate to occupations in the wider economy.
If effectively implemented, labour market intelligence could help education providers identify emerging skills requirements and review their training programmes accordingly.
For example, students interested in the energy or mining sectors could use career guidance to understand relevant occupations, the technical competencies required and possible routes into those fields.
Similarly, young people considering agribusiness, tourism or technology could explore career options and identify areas where additional training may improve their prospects.
For policymakers, such information could also contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between the skills produced by training institutions and the requirements of employers.
However, AI-generated recommendations must remain a guide rather than a substitute for professional career counselling, industry engagement and reliable labour market data.
The quality of the guidance will depend on the information available to the system, how frequently it is updated and whether its recommendations reflect opportunities across different regions and social groups.
Digital access will also be important. Young people with limited internet connectivity, access to devices or digital literacy may find it more difficult to benefit from an online platform unless appropriate support is provided.
Measuring impact beyond the technology
Although the presentation of Njila.ai demonstrates Zambia’s interest in applying AI to youth skills development, the pilot’s longer-term impact remains to be established.
The key question is whether the platform can help students make better career decisions and improve their transition from training to productive employment.
A meaningful assessment would need to examine how many students use the platform, whether they complete its career guidance activities, how useful they find its recommendations and whether those recommendations lead to further training, internships, job applications or employment.
It would also be important to assess whether the platform reaches young women and men equitably, including students from underserved communities who may face greater barriers to digital access and employment.
The government has indicated that lessons from participating students will inform improvements to the platform before any wider expansion.
This approach could help identify practical challenges and establish what support institutions need to integrate AI-powered guidance into their existing services.
Ultimately, the initiative’s success should be judged by measurable improvements in career readiness and employment outcomes, rather than the introduction of AI technology alone.
A potential model for youth skills development in Africa
Zambia’s Njila.ai pilot comes as governments across Africa explore ways to use digital technologies to improve education, skills development and access to economic opportunities.
For countries grappling with youth unemployment and skills mismatches, AI-powered career guidance could provide an additional means of helping young people navigate increasingly complex labour markets.
But its potential will depend on more than the technology itself. Effective implementation requires reliable labour market information, accessible digital infrastructure, relevant vocational training and active participation from employers.
For Zambia, Njila.ai offers an opportunity to test whether AI can help narrow the distance between acquiring skills and finding work.
As the pilot develops, its findings could provide useful lessons for other African countries seeking to align education systems with the needs of their economies.
The central test will be whether students emerge with clearer career pathways, stronger employment prospects and skills that employers genuinely need.
Source: Zambia Ministry of Technology and Science, Zambia Advances Innovative Solutions to Bridge the Youth Skills-to-Employment Gap, October 2026.
