Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo VTC to Open Doors Before Year End

By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka

ST JOSEPH’S – The Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo Vocational Training Centre in Matebeleland South Province is on track to welcome its first students before the end of the year, with enrollment expected to begin as early as September.

The state-of-the-art facility, built adjacent to the late Vice President Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo’s rural home in the St Joseph’s area, holds deep historical significance as the place where the revered nationalist, often called “Father Zimbabwe,” was raised.

“Here we are going to see a state-of-the-art college where all vocational training can be done,” said Engineer Gift Masuku, site engineer for Gap Construction, the contractor supervising the project.

“I can promise you that by the end of the year we will find this place fully constructed, one hundred percent.”

With ground-breaking originally expected on April 18, significant milestones have already been achieved on site.

Boundary works are nearing completion, with the boundary wall 70% complete and fencing finished at 100%.

Main structures are taking shape rapidly. The administration block has seen 100% setting out and footing excavation, with footing concrete casting at 90%. Substructure brickwork stands at 50%, while superstructure brickwork has reached 30%.

Eight classrooms are now awaiting roofing, plastering, and slab casting, with veranda beam approved.

Footing excavation for a second classroom block is 75% complete. Workshop setting out has reached 40%, and the gate house steel structure is also at 40%.

Road infrastructure on the site is substantially advanced. Topsoil excavation, subgrade compaction, and all base material dumping, spreading, and compaction (Base 4, Base 3, and Base 2) are all 100% complete, pending soil testing results.

Once operational, the centre is expected to provide critical vocational skills training for youth in Matebeleland South and beyond, preserving the legacy of one of Zimbabwe’s founding fathers while equipping a new generation with practical trades.