The ManicaPost
Blessing Rwizi Post Correspondent—
MINISTER of Youth, Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Cde Patrick Zhuwao has urged Vocational Training Centres in Manicaland to link up with different stakeholders and institutions of higher education to ensure continuous development of the nation’s skills and training programmes.
Speaking at Magamba VTC’s 19th graduation and prize giving ceremony last Wednesday, Minister Zhuwawo also urged private players to capacitate the VTCs with the requisite training resources and infrastructure or land for developing state–of-the-art VTCs through building synergies.
“I encourage you to engage in partnerships with institutions of higher education like Africa University and strengthen your agriculture development through collaborations.
There is need for multi-faceted link with variety of stakeholders and partners to ensure success for continuously developing the nation’s skills and training programs. Let us all endeavour to provide vocational and entrepreneurship skills training to a level of excellence and also create employment towards an empowered society and a growing economy.
“Statistics reveal that 84% of the candidates who are sitting to write O-Level every year in this country are failing to come out with five subjects. In that regard VTCs must cater for this percentage and provide trade tested and entrepreneurial skills that enable them to set up their own enterprises. The Ministry’s training programmes are therefore set to cater for craftsmen, artisans, technicians and professionals,” he said.
179 graduates comprising of 139 males and 40 females were awarded with diplomas and prizes according to their success rates in their respective categories during the ceremony.
This year’s graduation ceremony was held under the theme ‘Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Development through Public Private Partnership Inclusion’.
The Public Private Partnership approach was used as a survival tactic to bring about quality into the VTC’s training programme as a means to complement Government effort to provide a second chance education opportunity to the youth of Zimbabwe.
Four of the 179 students went through intense short programmes in garment construction, poultry and pig production, while the other four whose training was more practically oriented successfully completed their courses in carpentry and joinery, and agriculture. They were awarded with competence certificates.
The remaining 171 completed two year skills training in commercial agriculture, hotel and catering, clothing technology, motor mechanics, auto electrics, welding, building, carpentry and joinery and secretarial studies with a whole year having been spent on industrial attachment. The college however achieved 100% pass rate from 2015’s 98%.
Tatenda Mupotsa, David Gwatidzo, Leonard Tetiwa, Leonard Mudzi, Annie Mutape, Jane Dapira, Tamary Mwaera, Shingirai Mwakureya, Tatenda Chikuni, Takudzwa Tsimba, Mbengano Tonderai, Kennedy Njodzo, and Andrew Duri were the best students in auto electricity, agriculture, brick and block laying, carpentry and joinery, clothing technology, hospitality, motor mechanics, welding, entrepreneurship categories, respectively.
They went home with $50 in cash each among other prizes worth hundreds of dollars.
Tafadzwa Murahwa and Blessing Mabani scooped the male sportsperson awards while Nyasha Mariga and Mavis Mugomba led the female section. They were awarded with pairs of track suits and sneakers each.
Shingirai Makureya, Mavis Mugomba, Passmore Nyambawaro and Anyway Mashaya also won food hampers for being most well behaved students. Emmanuel Mwarimu and Jane Dapira were walked away with food hampers for being the best behaviour change makers.
Magamba VTC principal, Mr Isaiah Sabwe hailed the graduates for persevering to complete their studies despite the hardships they faced along the way.
“Our graduates were trained under a very harsh environment exacerbated by meagre fiscal support from Treasury but they have managed to make it to the end.
We got not more than 12% of the fiscal support and to that effect we decided to embrace the Public Private Partnership approach as the only way for survival and bring about quality into our training programme as a means to complement Government effort.
“Now we are appealing to financial institutions to consider supporting graduates from VTCs as proclaimed through-January 2016 monetary Policy Statement which committed the loan book to empowerment as well as the April 11 Presidential Statement on matters of economic empowerment and indeginisation issues,” said Mr Sabwe.
The college received $60 000 from Banc ABC bank for the rehabilitation of its irrigation infrastructure. It managed to set up a solar powered borehole pump, two green houses and 1.3 hectare open drip irrigation system which saw horticultural production going into full throttle.
They managed to feed students and also sold 5 184kgs of tomatoes and 1100 heads of cabbages from its irrigation.
The centre has continued to attract studentship from across the country despite it being the provincial centre for Manicaland.
It has managed to train 345 students this year with a male to female ratio of 3:1. Since 2005, some 3 727 students have passed through the college, 40.4% of which are female.
