Mozambique’s National Roads Administration has placed 15 recent university graduates on major road infrastructure projects, combining professional skills development with investments in the country’s transport network.
The Young Graduate initiative, which began in September 2026, provides graduates with practical experience on active road projects along the Nacala and Mtwara corridors in northern Mozambique.
Four of the 15 participants are women, while six graduates have been assigned to projects financed by the African Development Bank Group.
The programme is designed to address a challenge facing many young professionals: moving from academic qualifications into employment that requires practical industry experience.
Participants work alongside established engineers, construction contractors and project supervision teams, gaining exposure to the technical and operational requirements of large infrastructure projects.
Their responsibilities include learning about road construction, environmental and social safeguards, procurement processes, project management and digital systems.
For civil engineering graduate Wilson Armindo Nhapulo, the initiative provides an opportunity to apply university knowledge to the country’s road network.
“I hope to move from theoretical models and academic simulations to the real scale of the national road network,” said Nhapulo, who graduated from Eduardo Mondlane University.
The graduates were formally welcomed at the National Roads Administration (ANE) on 15 September 2026 during a meeting attended by African Development Bank Country Manager for Mozambique Rômulo Cunha Corrêa and ANE Deputy Director General Miguel Coanai.
The meeting also addressed institutional capacity, future road investments and cooperation between the Bank and Mozambique’s transport authorities.
Corrêa said infrastructure development should include investment in the professionals responsible for delivering and maintaining public assets.
“Investing in infrastructure must also mean investing in people. By giving young Mozambican graduates practical experience on real projects and opportunities to learn from experienced professionals, we are helping to develop the skills and expertise needed for Mozambique’s future,” he said.
The initiative builds on an earlier programme implemented in 2025, when 17 students from vocational and technical institutions in Cabo Delgado received practical training on road construction sites.
Those placements introduced students to surveying, materials testing, earthworks, pavement construction, drainage and structural works.
The 2026 programme extends the model to university graduates, creating an additional route for young people to gain professional experience within the infrastructure sector.
By connecting training to active construction projects, the initiative allows participants to observe how engineering decisions are implemented and how large-scale infrastructure programmes are managed.
ANE Deputy Director General Miguel Coanai said the programme also contributes to developing the technical workforce needed for future infrastructure projects.
“By placing the graduates within ANE and on active road projects, we are developing their technical skills but also investing in the next generation of professionals who will help plan, deliver and manage Mozambique’s road infrastructure in the years ahead,” Coanai said.
The graduate placements form part of broader investments in northern Mozambique’s transport infrastructure.
These include the approximately 170-kilometre Mueda–Negomano road and the Nacala Corridor, which extends for more than 1,000 kilometres.
Together, the road investments are valued at approximately US$500 million.
Funding involves the African Development Fund, European Union, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Korea EXIM Bank and the Government of Mozambique.
The projects aim to strengthen road connectivity and improve transport links serving communities and businesses across northern Mozambique.
Road infrastructure plays an important role in economic participation, particularly where inadequate transport connections increase the cost of moving agricultural products, goods and services.
Improved road networks can support access to markets, facilitate commercial activity and strengthen connections between communities and economic centres.
The infrastructure investments have also generated employment during construction.
According to the African Development Bank, more than 1,500 direct jobs have been created through its road investments in Mozambique, alongside additional indirect employment involving local contractors, suppliers and transport services.
The Young Graduate initiative adds a skills development component to these investments by introducing newly qualified professionals to the sector.
Rather than limiting infrastructure development to construction and immediate employment, the programme seeks to strengthen the country’s longer-term capacity to manage transport projects.
Graduates gain experience working within established engineering and project delivery teams, while the National Roads Administration develops a pool of professionals familiar with Mozambique’s infrastructure requirements.
The initiative also demonstrates how public infrastructure spending can contribute to human capital development when structured training is incorporated into project implementation.
For the 15 graduates, the placements provide an introduction to professional engineering practice and the complexities of delivering major road projects.
Their experience could help prepare them for future responsibilities in engineering, infrastructure planning, project supervision and transport development.
The programme’s longer-term contribution will depend on how participants apply their training and progress into professional roles.
By combining practical graduate development with major road investments, Mozambique is linking infrastructure expansion to the development of local technical expertise needed to support future economic growth.
