The study sought to investigate the prospects of equipping hearing impaired youths in peri-urban Masvingo District with skills for employment and self-employment in view of the economic crisis in Zimbabwe.  The study used the Human Capital Theory as the theoretical framework. A case study research design was used.  Data was collected through semi-structured interviews of eight purposefully selected hearing impaired vocational graduates as well as four key informant interviews with lecturers at the special school. Observations were also done to augment data from the interviews. Thematic analysis was used in analyzing the data. The study revealed that the hearing-impaired graduates acquired technical and vocational and skills at the special school. However, despite the high skill levels, they were not being utilized for their livelihoods. Instead of utilizing their technical and vocational skills, most of the graduates were engaged in self-initiated micro-entrepreneurial activities such as street vending. The major challenges to employment and self-employment included lack of capital, communication barriers and lack of representation and clear policy. The study recommends the realignment of vocational skills with the reality in which hearing-impaired graduates experience daily to focus more on entrepreneurship and community development in view of a weak economy which makes employment and self-employment difficult to achieve.

This qualitative study examined the competency of in-service teachers in inclusive education inZimbabwe. A purposive sample of 15 graduate in-service special needs education teachers selected from onestate university participated in the study. Semi structured interviews were used to collect data. Thematicanalysis was used to analyse data. The study established that for most of the teachers, the in service trainingfairly managed to prepare them adequately to teach in an inclusive class. It was also found from the study thatmost teachers interviewed are knowledgeable in identifying children with special needs. Peer tutoring andinteraction groups were common methods of teaching. It was also reported that lack of resources and lack ofsupport from other teachers were major challenges impeding teachers from meeting the needs of the learnersin inclusive setting. The study further revealed that extensive training on use of individual educationalprogram is needed during training. The study recommends that teachers be evaluated on all relevantcompetences during teaching practise which could enhance the professional development of in-serviceteachers in inclusive education. Another recommendation is that micro teaching strategy be used to fine tunethe teachers skills in teaching in an inclusive classes.