Don Bosco Technical College introduces new trades in technical courses

Part of the equipment for the new technical courses offered at Don Bosco Technical College.
In a bid to empower youths on practical skills Don Bosco Technical College in the mining
town of Hwange has introduced new trades in technical courses with orientation and lectures
set to commence this week.
The new trades in technical courses include fit and turning, plumbing and drilling, metal
fabrication and welding. These courses will be in addition to those already offered such as
bricklaying, clothing and technology that were being taught from the inception of the
College.
Don Bosco Technical College Hwange Director and Principal Fr Simbarashe Muza said they
have had to do a paradigm shift to move with the times and respond to the demand by the
economy which requires people with practical skills rather than focusing only on theory. As
such the college had looked at what skills were needed to help capacitate the modern youth.
 “We are in an economy that is growing not only as a formal economy but also as an informal
economy.  The informal economy demands people to have practical skills; so we want to
equip the citizens particularly the local people here in Hwange with skills that are relevant to
the job market. We felt this was not enough.
“We want to be a technical college with a technical dimension that is why we introduced
courses that are relevant to job markets. We are in a town that is based on mining and the
mining industry does not only need people who are specialised in geological studies,
specifically mining activities but also people who are skilled in running and maintaining and
repairing the machine within the vicinity.
“We also see the growth in the mining industry which demands a lot of skilled people not
only in building but also in plumbing as well. Our society particularly needs people that can
machine things, people that can do plumbing. The advantage being that, these courses can

create opportunities for young people both in the formal and informal economy,” said Fr
Muza.
He added that the institution intends to produce quality students equipped with advanced
knowledge in technical skills saying the community should expect young people to be
generational changers in their locality. As such the College had employed seasoned lecturers
with vast knowledge in the machine industry.
“The community should expect this institution to produce people who will be relevant to the
local economy, people that are going to participate in the building of our economy and our
society in Hwange. We have tried to look for seasoned lecturers who have been in the
industry for quite some time who can equip them with the most advanced skills that are in the
industry. People should expect quality to come out of the place,” said Fr Muza.
Another reason the College had started these new trades, Fr Muza said, was to fight off the
vicious cycle of drug and substance abuse as well as early pregnancies within the community.
As the saying goes that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, Fr Muza said he believes the
technical courses will go a long way in helping the young people to shun away from negative
practices that are killing their future.
He stressed that once they are equipped with knowledge they are bound to be actively
involved in productive projects which can be a ticket to eradicate unemployment in societies.
“We believe that by equipping young people with skills we are giving them an opportunity to
be empowered and to make a difference to avoid the things that are slowly becoming a
scourge on the young people in our society. Once a young person has been equipped with
skills they will not sit down and do nothing but will be able to produce something and be
productive. 
“And as productive citizens they will then naturally have income that will make them even
more productive rather than sitting and doing nothing. So for young people we believe that by
equipping them with skills they are already participating in, we are helping them avoid falling
into the trap of a vicious cycle of drug and substance abuse and unemployment,” he said.
Such help at Don Bosco has been appreciated by one of the students, Wesley Simukai who
will be taking a welding course. He was happy with the newly launched initiative saying it
will keep him busy while making dream of being someone come true.
“The opening of the technical courses has given me some strength that I can achieve and
understand my goals in future. The welding course will help me to stay away from drugs as I
will be busy doing something productive. We know that drugs are now becoming a pandemic
in the streets and I want to avoid that,” said Simukai.
Established in 2007, Don Bosco Technical College which was built and being funded by the
Roman Catholic Church has been focusing largely on commercial courses such as Purchasing
and Supply, Human Resource Management to mention a few. But with its geographical
location as it is an institution which is in the mining entity, they have expanded their roots to
tap trade courses that will equip youths with basic skills needed to improvise in the
ballooning formal and informal sectors which need practical skills.