Youth skills training as a strategy for rural employment in Zimbabwe

This article attempts to assess the role of Youth Training Centres in Zimbabwe by reference to observation and investigation ("case studies") of two training centres, one a government training centre established since Independence and one a nongovernment training centre established prior to Independence. This article compares the two centres on the basis of history, geographical situation, level of educational requirement for entry, programme content and flexibility, and employment creating ability, amongst several variables. Some attention is paid to the need to train for rural development and to the concept of education with production and how these concepts have been translated practically in these centres. The discussion on the two centres is used to point to some potential policy implications for training and education and focuses on the need for collaboration, coordination and cooperation between the public and private youth training centres. The author ends on a note of optimism born out of the recognition of the problem of youth unemployment and training needs in Zimbabwe and the attempts to deal with these problems.