GOVERNMENT has employed a number of national youth service (NYS) graduates in line with a Cabinet directive for the trainees to be given first preference for recruitment into the civil service, Youth Empowerment, Development and Vocational Training minister Tinoda Machakaire has said.
Machakaire said this at Dadaya Youth training centre during the inaugural youth service graduation ceremony yesterday.
In May this year, President Emmerson Mnangagwa launched the NYS programme at Nhakiwa Vocational Training Centre in Mashonaland East province.
This subsequently enabled the recruitment of trainees at Vumba and Dadaya, respectively.
“This intake conducted a careers’ day that resulted in some of the trainees being absorbed by various government departments such as the Zimbabwe Republic Police, Zimbabwe National Army, Zvishavane Town Council, Zimpapers and Public Service Commission,” Machakaire said in his address.
“This is in line with the Cabinet directive which requires that holders of the Youth Service in Zimbabwe certificate be given priority in admission into all State institutions and appointment into the public service and State enterprises.
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“The programme is an important component of youth development and empowerment in Zimbabwe.
“Its role is to develop patriotic, disciplined, resilient and responsible youth equipped with relevant skills to enable them to meaningfully participate in nation building.”
He said government had allocated land to the ministry to establish vocational training centres (VTCs) in every district across Zimbabwe.
“The ministry is working to expand vocational training access nationwide, with plans to establish at least one VTC in each and every district, including metropolitan districts,” Machakaire revealed.
“The existing centres are undergoing refurbishment and land has been secured for construction in new locations with the aim to train more youth in the next five years.”
Last Friday, Machakaire presided over another graduation ceremony at Lobengula VTC in Bulawayo.
“The nation faces a growing crisis of drug and substance abuse among our youths,” he said.
“A challenge that demands a multisectoral approach, VTCs are essential in these efforts as they provide young people with valuable skills, meaningful alternatives and a sense of purpose, reducing the vulnerability to substance abuse.”
The NYS programme was initially launched by the late Youth minister Border Gezi in 2001 before it was abandoned due to funding challenges. Government attempted to bring it back in 2021, but faced a similar challenge.
Mnangagwa eventually launched the programme in May this year.