A survey was carried out in Harare on young people who have completed college or University. The main objective was to analyse the employment status of youth in relation to the skills they have. Results indicated that the majority of the respondents are not formally employed, or those employed are not employed in the jobs they trained for. As a result, there is a high level of skills mismatch leading to skills obsolescence. Many graduates are unemployed or have resorted to self- employment or some type of entrepreneurship. The results also indicate that most of the research participants are engaged in hybrid jobs, mainly technical jobs so as to reduce the impact of skills obsolescence and at the same time earn some money to make a living. The study recommends that young people be encouraged to train in multi disciplines whilst in University or College so as to have career flexibility and competitive advantage when they graduate.

This phenomenological study was carried out in order to explore the lived experiences of Post Graduate Diploma in Education students on the strengths and weaknesses of the program during the Covid 19 Pandemic. It also aimed at mapping up the way forward based on what works in the light of the new normal. The inception of the Covid 19 Pandemic resulted in sudden disruptions in most national systems including the educational systems in Zimbabwe. The Government responded to the pandemic with lockdowns, travel restrictions and social distancing. Within the tertiary education realm, the teacher training system was among those that were hard-hit because the teacher education program includes both theoretical and practical components. The practical component is the teaching practice, the hands-on experience that is significant to the student teachers. This meant that the nationally enforced COVID 19 restrictions would need adjustments in and restructuring of the pedagogical activities and practices that complied with the COVID 19 restrictions. Such strategies included adopting e-learning on various virtual platforms. Both teachers and students had to upscale their computer technology skills as fast as possible in order meet the demands and duration of the program. The study adopted a qualitative approach and thematic analysis was used to categorize responses. Five major themes emerged from the data collected as follows: Financial constraints, poor and unreliable internet connectivity: capitalizing on strengths of the program: students’ developed coping strategies and COVID 19 experience as a learning curve. The recommendation is a total embrace of the new normal by institutions of higher learning. In addition, the study also recommends that crisis preparedness and adequate student orientation are very necessary for smooth running PGDE program.

The purpose of this was to evaluated the effectiveness of Student Leadership training program carried out for the newly elected student leaders of a private secondary school in Zimbabwe. A qualitative descriptive case study was used in this study. Ten 10 student leaders were purposively selected from a total of 24 student leaders. In-depth interviews were used to solicit the student leaders’ perceptions on the effectiveness of the student leadership training offered to the newly elected student leaders. Data collected was analysed using thematic Analysis. Findings of the study indicate that the student leadership program was deemed effective as it became an eye opener for most of the student leaders as it helped some to change their attitudes for better. The major strengths of the training program that were highlighted include that firstly the timing was very appropriate, coming soon after the installation and inauguration of the new leaders, before they assumed duties so they could be adequately equipped so as to avoid making blunders. Secondly, the training included team building activities and thirdly, that it was grounded on Christian principles such as honesty, integrity and Commitment to serve and uphold the school rules in an exemplary way. This equipped the budding leaders with key leadership skills and competencies such as interpersonal skills, effective communication skills, decision making strategies, problem solving skills as well as collaborative skills. Most participants opined that they got to understand their duties and responsibilities better and could feel confident to function as liaison between student body and faculty. On the other hand, the student leadership training had a major limitation of time constraint. Hence some of the topics were scantly covered and others such as issues of punishment were not covered at all. In conclusion, student leadership training should be considered seriously as an essential training not only of student leaders but as an opportunity to nurture and groom budding leaders for tomorrow. The study recommends that in future, the training could be more effective if it is carried out for 2-3 consecutive days of if it is split into 2 distinct phases, thus allowing for more interactive team building activities.

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