Manicaland ready for first YSZ intake
PREPARATIONS for the re-establishment of the Youth Service in Zimbabwe Programme at Eagle Youth Training Centre in Vumba are progressing well, with at least 250 students expected to be enrolled at the institution next month.
Government recently announced that the Youth Service in Zimbabwe programme will be relaunched in June, with an initial enrolment of 750 youths from across the country.
Rechristened Youth Service in Zimbabwe (YSZ), the programme — which is set to train thousands of youths — will run for six months.
Maintenance and ground rehabilitation work was in progress when The Manica Post visited Eagle Youth Training Centre this week.
The facility, which is about 25 kilometres on the outskirts of Mutare, is expected to accommodate at least 250 youths.
It has been the only centre serving that purpose in the province since 2003.
The centre has intact infrastructure which includes a dining room, classroom blocks, hostels and three spacious grounds for training and sporting activities.
There is an ideal dining hall with adequate cooking equipment and a spacious hall for mass lectures, classrooms and hostels that can accommodate 250 youths.
Security around that facility was enhanced through a perimeter fence and another fence that barricades the blocks.
Some of the structures require touch-ups like repainting.
Rehabilitation of training grounds was in progress as they will be used for training programmes as well as sporting activities like soccer, netball and volleyball.
At the foot of Muduma Mountain and overlooking Vumba Heights, the facility has adequate electricity and water supplies.
As part of the curriculum activities, youths will be trained on patriotism, discipline, voluntarism and entrepreneurship skills.
They will also undertake outreach programmes in communities and income-generating projects like poultry, piggery and horticulture, among others.
Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Honourable
Tino Machakaire, expressed excitement about the revival of the programme.
He said vocational training centres and Youth Service in Zimbabwe centres need to be pro-active and spearhead youths’ empowerment and development processes through vocational skills training, with emphasis on productivity and commercialisation.
Youth Service in Zimbabwe centres, he said, should be turned into hubs for socio-economic development of the communities they are located in.
Minister Machakaire said the full utilisation of the centres will reduce drug abuse through entrepreneurial development of youths.
“We are happy that the Youth Service in Zimbabwe programme is back, and Government is committed to ensuring that youths’ future is safe and sound. These youth service facilities should ensure that youths know the history of our country; where we came from and where we are going. The training centres will be open for all youths across the country.
“The reopening of the centres is timely as this is being done at a time Government has declared war on drug and substance abuse.
“The reopening will, among other things, play a critical role in combating the drug and substance abuse scourge as we will be encouraging youths to learn to work for themselves through entrepreneurship courses, be disciplined and be exemplary,” said Minister Machakaire.
Information Publicity and Broadcasting Services Minister, Dr Jenfan Muswere, recently announced that an Inter-Ministerial Implementation Committee to oversee the implementation of the programme was established.
Youth Service in Zimbabwe comes as Government moves to inculcate a culture of service, constructive participation of youths in nation-building activities and the need to keep youths away from societal ills such as drug and substance abuse resulting from idleness.
“Achievements to date include the National Youth Service Bill being drafted following the approval of the principles in August 2023, and the development of a six-month training programme which will target youths between the ages of 18 and 35.
“The programme, which covers three months of institutionalised training and three months of community attachment, will commence in June 2024 with an enrolment of 750 youths across the country. Those who undergo the training will be issued with certificates on completion of the programme. The national youth service programme has been renamed Youth Service in Zimbabwe and 10 000 youths are earmarked to undergo training in 2024.
“The youths will be drawn equally from all the country’s 10 provinces. The recruitment will be cascaded to incorporate youths in all wards and districts and the new curriculum will infuse national orientation with life skills training and entrepreneurial development.
“New uniforms, signage and logo have been designed and will be registered and all production units are expected to fully use available land and engage in commercial production units for self-sustenance,” he said.
Dr Muswere said youths who complete training will get priority in employment and enrolment into the public sector and higher and tertiary education institutions, and will be prioritised for financial support to establish new projects and businesses.