Vocational Training Centres Operating from Old Beer-halls and Refugee Camps, Parliament Report Says

Harare - Zimbabwe’s vocational training centers (VTCs), intended to be the frontline of youth empowerment and economic development, have been described as being in a state of "crisis," with students learning in repurposed beer-halls, former refugee camps and dilapidated barracks, a parliamentary report has revealed.

The findings, presented by Mashonaland West Proportional Representative Member of Parliament, Honourable Mutsawashe Carl Ziyambi, on behalf of the Portfolio Committee on Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training following a nationwide inquiry, paint a stark picture of a system struggling to fulfill its mandate while over 2.3 million Zimbabwean youths remain idle, neither in employment nor education.

"The state of our vocational training centres is not just a technical matter, but it is a justice issue, a national survival issue and a generational dignity issue," said Kwekwe Central Member of Parliament, Hon. Judith Tobaiwa, who seconded the motion to adopt the report.

"The report lays bare the crisis... Our VTCs can only absorb about 12,000 per year. That is not a gap; it is swallowing the future of our young people," she said.

The committee's field visits between March 10 and 15, 2025, revealed that many institutions lack dedicated, modern facilities.

Instead, the majority are housed in "old farm houses, former barracks, refugee camps, council halls and old disused beerhalls", the report reveals.

In Mutare, the urban VTC is situated at an old beerhall, a location described as having inadequate space for practical training sessions.

At Umguza VTC in Matabeleland North, the committee found a single room that serves as a classroom during the day and is converted into a student hostel at night.

"This is not a training centre, but it is survival," Hon. Tobaiwa told Parliament, adding that "how can we expect innovations when our youths are learning in darkness with obsolete tools and without internet connectivity?".

The report identified severe financial constraints as a primary driver of the decay.

Despite a national demand for training estimated at 130,000 students, current enrollment hovers around 9,500.

Treasury disbursements have been described as a "drop in the ocean," with some centers failing to access any funding at all.

In 2024, the funds released for operations averaged only US$1,628 per VTC per term, a figure the committee said cannot produce the expected impact.

These financial shortfalls are often passed on to students, fees average US$500 per term, higher than some University tuitions, effectively making vocational training a preserve for only a few who can afford it.

Staffing is equally precarious. The department has a vacancy rate of nearly 27%, with 213 of the 795 approved posts currently empty.

Some institutions, such as Mutare Urban and Umguza, are operating with only 60% of their required teaching staff.

The committee also warned that the curriculum is failing to keep pace with modern industry demands.

While the world moves toward digital literacy, Zimbabwe’s VTCs remain focused on "traditional old courses" like brick-laying and carpentry.

Information Communication Technology (ICT) is taught as a subject but does not offer formal certification, a situation Hon. Tobaiwa called unacceptable.

The report recommended an urgent revision of the curriculum by the end of 2025 to include cellphone repairs, web design and coding, alongside a downward review of tuition fees to $250 per term to increase accessibility.

"Modernising vocational training centres is critical to building a skilled workforce and fostering economic growth," the committee concluded, urging the government to implement its recommendations to ensure no young person is left behind.