Staff Writer
The Tonganyika Trust continues to expand its vocational skills development programme across Zimbabwe, with hundreds of youths and other community members graduating from free practical training courses aimed at promoting self-reliance, entrepreneurship and employment creation.
The Trust’s programmes have resulted in a series of graduation ceremonies in different parts of the country this year, with beneficiaries being trained in practical disciplines including welding, driving, catering, baking, detergent production, information technology, solar installation, electrical wiring, hairdressing and other skills.
Among the reported graduation ceremonies was the one held in Gwanda on August 28, 2026, where 21 inmates from Gwanda Prison and Gwanda Farm Prison received certificates after completing a two-week vocational training programme conducted in partnership with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS).
The inmates were trained in welding, beauty therapy, mortuary science, horticulture and information technology.
The programme was designed to equip them with practical skills that could assist their rehabilitation and reintegration into society after release.
Speaking at the ceremony, Gwanda Prison Officer-in-Charge Superintendent Simon Ndondo said vocational training was an important component of rehabilitation and could help reduce recidivism by giving inmates skills to earn a living.
Representing Tonganyika Trust, Wisdom Masase said the organisation remained committed to supporting Government efforts in human capital development and rehabilitation.
The Gwanda graduation followed several other ceremonies held by the Trust during the year.
In May, 273 graduates received certificates in Chinhoyi after completing courses in professional driving, catering, baking, detergent production, ICT, solar installation, electrical wiring, welding and metal fabrication.
Guest of honour Philip Chiyangwa challenged the graduates to use their skills to create employment rather than wait for formal jobs.
Earlier, on March 27, 528 students from Plumtree, Mangwe and Bulilima districts graduated after completing 10 different courses under the Tonganyika Trust programme.
The courses included welding, hotel and catering, cutting and designing, mortuary attendance, hairdressing, building, solar installation, ICT and dispensary assistance.
The Plumtree graduation represented a substantial increase from the previous Mangwe graduation, where 81 students had completed their training.
The Trust also recorded a major milestone in Headlands, where 1 600 youths graduated after completing various vocational courses. The programme was described as part of efforts to bring practical skills development closer to communities, particularly in areas where access to formal training opportunities can be limited.
The Headlands programme included skills such as hotel and catering, driving and detergent making, with beneficiaries encouraged to use their qualifications to establish small businesses and create employment.
The Trust’s programmes are based on the principle that vocational skills can provide communities with practical alternatives to unemployment by equipping beneficiaries to produce goods and provide services within their own communities.
Beyond youth empowerment, the organisation has also targeted women and other groups.
Previous programmes have provided training in areas such as beauty therapy, early childhood development, catering, ICT and detergent formulation.
The organisation’s growing programme has seen graduation ceremonies become an important feature of its work, providing beneficiaries with formal recognition of their newly acquired skills while encouraging them to translate their qualifications into livelihoods.
The continued rollout of training programmes across urban and rural communities comes as Zimbabwe seeks to strengthen vocational education, entrepreneurship and small-scale enterprise development as part of its broader economic development agenda.
With recent graduations in Gwanda, Chinhoyi, Plumtree and Headlands among others, Tonganyika Trust’s activities demonstrate an expanding effort to take skills development directly to communities and equip beneficiaries with practical competencies for employment and self-employment.
Tonganyika Trust was founded in 2021 by Tongai Mafidi Mnangagwa and Gwendolyn Mnangagwa, initially focusing on empowering young women with practical skills and opportunities for self-reliance. The initiative has since expanded its reach to communities across Zimbabwe, offering free vocational and life-skills training to youths, women and other groups. Its programmes have increasingly incorporated rural and underserved communities, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, self-employment and job creation.
The Trust has also extended its skills-development work into areas such as rehabilitation, including through its partnership with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service to equip inmates with practical skills ahead of their reintegration into society. Through this expanding community-based approach, the Trust has positioned vocational training as a tool for addressing unemployment, strengthening livelihoods and contributing to Zimbabwe’s broader human-capital development agenda.