Over 2.3 Million Zimbabwean Youths Idle as Vocational Centres Struggle

Harare - More than 2.3 million young Zimbabweans are not in employment, education or training, a Parliamentary committee heard on Tuesday, February 10, 2025, as lawmakers described vocational training centres (VTCs) as underfunded, understaffed and operating in dilapidated facilities.

Presenting findings from a nationwide inquiry, Hon. Mutsawashe Carl Ziyambi said the 2024 Third Quarter Labour Force Survey showed that 2.3 million (2 302 369) youths are not engaged in any employment activity, education or training.

Yet Zimbabwe’s vocational training infrastructure can accommodate only around 12,000 youths annually, lawmakers said.

The Ministry of Youth oversees 45 VTCs and 25 satellite centres under its Training for Enterprise (TFE) programme, which aims to equip young people with practical and entrepreneurial skills .

National enrolment is however hovering around 9 500 students against a possible demand of 130 000, Hon. Ziyambi said .

The committee warned that without urgent reform, vocational centres would fail to meet Zimbabwe’s Vision 2030 ambition of becoming an upper middle-income economy.

"Modernising vocational training centres is critical to building a skilled workforce and fostering economic growth,” Hon. Ziyambi said .

Youth empowerment has become central to government rhetoric, particularly as drug and substance abuse rises among unemployed young people.

Lawmakers argued that strengthening vocational training is key to tackling both joblessness and social decay.