1 000 Youths Begin Youth Service Training
The government has assured youths who will graduate from the Youth Service in Zimbabwe programme that they will be given first preference for employment in government positions after completing their training.
This comes after the programme opened its doors to the first 1,000 youths, with 750 of them starting their training at the Dadaya Training Centre, and 250 female trainees beginning their training at the Vumba Centre.
Speaking to ZBC News, a representative of Chief Zimunya, Leonard Chigodora, challenged youths to participate in the programme, stating that it presents an opportunity for them to succeed in life. Chigodora said:
We are excited to witness young people being trained to promote the development of the country. This shows that the government knows what it is doing. The youths should take this chance seriously to succeed in life.
Vumba Youth Service in Zimbabwe Training Centre Head Monica Chekera said the training takes six months with three months being spent at the training centre. She said:
We focus on teaching youths to be productive, and disciplined, and to have pride in their country. We train youths even those with degrees and masters as long you are a youth.
At this centre, we are training women alone. Recruitment is done by youth officers at the district level.
The training takes six months with three months being spent at the training centre while the other three months is dedicated to community attachment.
The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training, Tino Machakaire, who toured the Vumba Training Centre on Thursday, said the youths will get first preference to secure employment in government after completing the training programme. Said Machakaire:
We have started youth service in Zimbabwe training programmes. Here there are 250 youths while in Midlands Province at Dadaya, we managed to take about 750 students that are already there.
We have also engaged with several churches that are supporting the initiative. We hope to increase our enrolment and by next year the figures will improve.
We have a serious problem with drugs and this is the way to go. Last week we had a meeting with church leaders to train youths in their churches.
We need to have a whole-of-society approach to fighting drug and substance abuse.
Authorities say the Youth Service in Zimbabwe programme is designed to nurture patriotic, well-rounded and disciplined citizens
More: Pindula News
