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Thupeyo Muleya Beitbridge Bureau
At least 5 000 people from Beitbridge district, among them the youth and the elderly, will benefit from training in life skills and entrepreneurship being rolled out by the Zimbabwe Science and Technology Association.
The association’s chairman, Mr Munashe Maguranyanga, said that they were implementing the initiative in partnership with the Zimbabwe Women’s Bank and the Nature College. So far they had trained 2000 people in the district to make soap and to package and brand it. This group will also be trained in hotel and catering.
Mr Maguranyanga said they were now targeting to train an additional 3 000 people.
“The soap making course takes three days, while the hotel and catering will be done in five days,” he said.
The groups are assisting those trained to access loans from the Zimbabwe Women’s Bank to boost their capacity to expand their businesses.
“Those taking hotel and catering courses will be assisted with placements for further industrial learning at hotels and within the food industry. So far, we have engaged local hotels and several food outlets in Beitbridge and countrywide to take the students on attachment for a specified period so that they gain more experience,” said Mr Maguranyanga.
The courses were open to anyone from the age of 16 years and above and all students were being issued with certificates upon completion of the trainings. The idea was to drive community development at the same time keeping unemployed youths off the streets.
In some parts of the country, the association was partnering the Government through the Ministry responsible for Youth Development and that of Women Affairs and Community Development.
“The response we are getting from the Beitbridge community is overwhelming. So far we have covered the whole town and Tshapfuche, Langeni, Penemene, Matshiloni and Lutumba in the rural part of the district.
“Our expectation is that at the end of these training sessions, we will have more groups of people coming together to form viable small to medium enterprises to improve their incomes at household level,” said Mr Maguranyanga.
Online Reporter