Vocational Education and Training in Zimbabwe: the Role of Private Sector Provision in the Context of Economic Reform

This paper presents and discusses the results of empirical research into the provision of vocational training by private sector training institutions (PSTIs) in Zimbabwe. Representative samples of registered and non- registered PSTIs in Harare were surveyed in early 1997. With economic liberalisation during the 1990s, there has been an extremely rapid growth in the number of students enrolled on a wide variety of courses offered by registered, for profit PSTIs. However, private sector provision of vocational training for the urban poor is very limited, both in terms of enrolments and areas of skill development.