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Sydney Kawadza Senior Features Writer
One can only but reminisce, with nostalgia, a group of former liberation fighters, trudging to Chaminuka Vocational Training Centre, all in a bid to quench a nudging urge for an education and skills development.They had abandoned studies to fight a colonial government that had made the sons and daughters of the soils second class citizens in their motherland.

After getting rid of the enemy the next challenge became contributing to the economic and social development of Zimbabwe.

Hence, it was in 1983 that some of the freedom fighters trudged back to school.

Chaminuka VCT in Mt Darwin, Mashonaland Central province provided that breakthrough.

After President Mugabe, on December 4, 1983, opened the skills training centre it has grown in leaps and bounds to become a centre of choice for many youths.

The centre was opened with a mandate of rehabilitating Zimbabwe’s ex-combatants and youths who had been deprived of their right to education during the colonial era.

As quoted by Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa last week, President Mugabe said: “Our political independence must now lead us to our economic independence. And just as youth played a crucial vanguard role in the struggle for political independence by solving the contradiction of political power, youth must now play an equally crucial vanguard role in the struggle for economic independence by solving the remaining contradictions of economic power.”

VP Mnangagwa was officiating at a Chamtech Command Agriculture Field Day last Friday noting that Chaminuka VCT had developed to become the province’s centre of excellence in skills training.

The centre runs 16 programmes.

Chaminuka VCT is one of the 43 vocational training centres around the country and are under the administration of the Ministry of Youth Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment.

“These vocational training centres are central to youth and economic empowerment in Zimbabwe, providing opportunities to those of our youth who may fail to proceed to higher levels of our secondary and tertiary education,” VP Mnangagwa said.

The VP also noted the need to support the transformation vocational training centres into primary business hubs, driving economic growth from grassroots levels.

“Chaminuka Vocational Training Centre is evidence of the fact that, with the required support, this can be achieved as a quick win in implementing Zim-Asset’s objectives.

“To attain this as a quick win, I pledge to support the Ministry to achieve three critical things.”

Firstly, VP Mnangagwa said, he would support the establishment of 210 vocational training centres in each constituency across the country.

“Secondly, to ensure that youth officers in each ward become Empowerment Extension Officers operating from these Vocational Training Centres.

“Thirdly, that each vocational training centre be supported by Command Agriculture in becoming an agricultural hub of excellence within the constituency,” he said.

The Ministry of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment has a mandate to empower young people through skills training to enhance sustainable livelihoods.

The Ministry has for the past 33 years imparted skills training to young people through its vocational education approach.

Soon after Independence the Ministry was mandated to offer skills training at VCTs to train young people who had returned from the war.

“These young people later started their own enterprises such as carpentry, welding and leather work amongst others.”

According to the Ministry, the vocational training mandate was pivoted on giving second chance education to less advantaged youths in society who had not achieved the Ordinary Level threshold of five subjects to garner employment or further their education.

All the provinces in Zimbabwe have a provincial centre which heads the district and other satellite centres.

“The network and distribution of these centres creates equal representation and access by youths across the country also focusing on training courses which cut across some of the key sectors of the economy which include agriculture and manufacturing,” the Ministry said.

The key thrust of Vocational education is Training for Enterprise (TFE).

“The aim of this initiative is to develop an entrepreneurial culture amongst the youth through skills and business management training in order to improve their employability.

“To date the centres have churned thousands of graduates some who have been absorbed into the formal and informal sector.

“The levels of certification range from National Foundation Certificate, National certificates and the centres also offer HEXCO certificates.”

The Integrated Skills Outreach Programme (ISOP) offered by the VTCs is a community based initiative meant to reach out to the youth who cannot access formal learning.

The ISOP programme is a strategy for short term demand driven outreach programmes which are done within identified locations ensuring optimum utilisation of locally available resources.

“Vocational education enrolment has since improved as evidenced by the increasing number of students graduating each and every year.

“The centres have also since established partnerships with the business community and institutions of higher learning such as the Midlands State University and the Bindura University of Science Education.”

The business community has also shown its support through the provision of on the job learning as students get attached to the various enterprises.

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment programme has also availed funding in the form of start-up capital for graduates under the youth development fund to enable them to start their own enterprises, either in groups or as individuals.

The centres also provide incubation facilities for the graduates who have no operating space as well as a link with markets.

Chaminuka VCT principal Mr Alois Musariri, a veteran of the liberation struggle in his own right, said the centre has over the years transformed to offer enterprising programmes certified by Government.

It also runs certificate and diploma programmes affiliated to Higher Education Examination Council (HEXCO) and the Bindura University of Science Education.

“These programmes are aimed at imparting sustainable entrepreneurial skills and improve the Zimbabwean rural communities’ livelihoods,” he said.

The centre currently has an enrolment of 947 students training under different short and long term courses.

It offers 16 courses in agriculture, horticulture, building, carpentry and joinery, clothing and textile, motor vehicle mechanics, electrical engineering and auto-electrical engineering.

Also on offer at the centre is metal fabrication engineering, youth and community work, hotel and catering, cosmetology, information technology, plumbing, secretarial studies, tourism and hospitality management.

“Chaminuka Training Centre does not segregate students based on O-Level qualifications.

“Here, at Chaminuka, we are open to everyone as long as that person has passion and determination for the intended course.

“In short, we have a place for both, high and low, fliers.”

To effectively and professionally execute its vision of being the leading player in human capital development, the centre has partner other organisation and stakeholders.

Under the Special Maize Import Substitution Programme, the Command Agriculture Programme, the centre planted over 100 hectares of maize with an expected yield of 10 tonnes per hectare.

“From the proceeds of the programme, the centre is going to retain some of the maize for students and livestock consumption,” he said.

Mr Musarira pledged to deliver 700 tonnes of the yield to the Grain Marketing Board as a contribution towards Zimbabwe’s food security.

The centre is also running the successful British American Tobacco Zimbabwe Tobacco Empowerment Trust which has renovated lecture rooms and student hostels.

“The Trust has contributed to the installation of an irrigation system, constructed five tobacco rocket barns and bought agriculture-related library books,” he said.

The Trust is also supporting 133 students training into tobacco related programmes with safety clothing and payment of 50 percent fees.

It has also supported the planting of 10 hectares of tobacco.

According to BAT Zimbabwe and the Trust spokesperson Mrs Clara Mlambo they had committed $ 527 000 towards the capacity development project in tobacco production at the centre.

“After an analysis of the progress of the project earlier this year, the Board of Trustees resolved to extend an additional $169 582,38 towards the project.

“This brings the total support for the project to $696 582,38.

“The additional funding that was approved by the Board of Trustees is for the purpose of granting educational bursaries to disadvantaged students who intend to undertake the tobacco production studies at the vocational training centre,” she said.

Mrs Mlambo said in line with its objective, the Trust will replicate the same project at Magamba Vocational Training Centre for the benefit of indigenous tobacco farmers in Manicaland.

The Magamba Vocational Training Centre will commence this year at an estimated project cost of $732 570,03.

According to research by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training on the benefits of vocational education and training, economic benefits of VET are widespread.

The research concluded that several countries have shown positive impacts on vocational training on wages, employment, mobility and employment opportunity.

The study further notes indications that VET contributes to reducing unemployment and may protect people from becoming unemployed.

“In terms of benefits for enterprises, the evidence points towards positive impacts on productivity, innovation, employment growth and organisation culture.

“VET can also play an important role in improving economic conditions in disadvantaged regions and by reducing the skill mismatch between workers and enterprises.

“VET appears to be most effective when it accompanies changes in the workplace.”

The centre also notes that economic benefits at the individual (micro) and enterprise (meso) level interact and are, at the same time, the basis for favourable outcomes at macro-economic level.

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