Patrick Chitumba, [email protected]
MIDLANDS Province’s vocational training centres are moving to commercialise their production units, a strategy aimed at bridging the gap between skills training and employment while equipping graduates to start businesses and create jobs.
The initiative will see workshops and production units at vocational training centres increasingly operate as income-generating hubs, giving trainees practical experience in manufacturing, agriculture and other commercial activities while teaching them business management, costing, quality control and marketing.
Speaking at the fourth joint Midlands Vocational Training Centres graduation and prize-giving ceremony at Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre in Gweru, provincial head of vocational training centres Mr Benson Peter Mazanhi said commercialising viable production units was a priority.
“Midlands Province has nine vocational training centres — Kaguvi, Gweru Urban, Aben, Shurugwi, Mumba, Zvishavane, Gokwe, Nyamuroro and Kwekwe, offering courses in engineering, construction, agriculture, hospitality, clothing technology and other practical disciplines,” he said.
Mr Mazanhi said the centres were working towards a model in which practical training would be linked to production, enabling students to understand how businesses operate and respond to market demands.
“Our broader objective is the commercialisation of all viable production units across the vocational training centres.
“We are working towards a model in which every production unit has clear objectives, realistic production targets, proper costing procedures, control measures, reliable records and identifiable markets for its products or services,” he said.
The strategy is anchored on Heritage-Based Education 5.0 and the National Development Strategy 2 (NDS2), which emphasise practical skills, innovation, industrialisation and enterprise development as part of efforts to achieve Vision 2030.
The country has 45 established vocational training centres and 15 satellite centres, bringing the national total to 60.
At the Midlands graduation ceremony, 641 trainees received their qualifications, comprising 401 males and 240 females. They were trained in fields including welding and fabrication, motor mechanics, garment construction and digital innovation.
Mr Mazanhi said the production hubs would allow students to apply their technical skills while gaining experience in meeting customer needs, maintaining quality standards, managing costs and generating revenue.
He said each centre was developing production activities suited to its training programmes, equipment and local market opportunities.
Gweru Urban Vocational Training Centre, for instance, is developing a clothing production hub that could manufacture uniforms, workwear and other garments for institutional and commercial markets, subject to production capacity and quality requirements.
The initiative is expected to expose trainees to commercial garment production while preparing them to establish businesses or seek employment in the clothing industry.
At Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre, the horticulture production hub is giving students opportunities to combine agricultural training with crop production and enterprise management.
Mr Mazanhi said trainees gained practical experience in crop establishment, husbandry, irrigation, harvesting, post-harvest handling, record-keeping and marketing, skills that could help them establish market-oriented agricultural enterprises.
He said the province was encouraging institutions to develop production hubs that responded to local economic activities and market demand.
The commercialisation drive is also being supported by investment in training infrastructure and equipment to ensure graduates acquire skills relevant to modern workplaces.
Mr Mazanhi cited the installation of an 80kVA solar power system at Kaguvi Vocational Training Centre as an intervention expected to improve electricity reliability for workshops, digital learning, administration and production activities.
He said solarisation initiatives were also being pursued at other vocational training centres across the province to minimise disruptions to training and production.
The province is also expanding digital skills training, with Mr Mazanhi highlighting the establishment of a digital hub at Nyamuroro Vocational Training Centre as an important development for rural communities.
He said the facility was expected to widen access to digital skills and technology, helping bridge the rural-urban digital divide and preparing young people for an economy increasingly shaped by innovation.
Beyond formal training institutions, the province is extending skills development to communities through outreach programmes.
Mr Mazanhi cited a community skills training programme conducted at ZCC Defe, where 450 people graduated, as an example of efforts to bring vocational training closer to communities.
He said collaboration between training institutions, employers, businesses, farmers, local authorities and development partners was essential to ensure that courses met the needs of industry and communities.
Mr Mazanhi urged graduates to uphold professional ethics and remain committed to lifelong learning as they entered the workplace or established their own enterprises.
“Our graduates are entering workplaces and communities where their conduct will be as important as their technical abilities. I therefore encourage our graduates to uphold professional ethics, respect the dignity of others, protect their reputations and remain committed to continuous learning,” he said.
One of the graduates, Ms Ethel Shumba, said the training had equipped her with practical skills that could help her start a business and become financially independent.
“The training has equipped me with practical skills that I can use to start my own business and become financially independent,” she said.
Another graduate, Ms Maureen Khumalo, said she hoped to use her qualification to secure opportunities in industry before eventually creating employment for others.
“As a female graduate, I want to demonstrate that women can also excel in technical fields and contribute to national development,” she said.
