Zimbabwean Ministry of Education teams up with Regenesys

THE Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education (of Zimbabwe) has teamed up with a leading South African business school to provide cutting edge skills to captains of industry, an official said yesterday.

Under the deal Regenesys Business School, which is part of an elite 18-member group of foremost South African colleges will provide critical practical skills training for Zimbabweans.
The school will provide courses in project management with a bias towards human resources upliftment.
Speaking at the launch of the advanced project management course at Bulawayo Polytechnic yesterday, the training co-ordinator for the programme and senior lecturer at Bulawayo Polytechnic, Mr Peter Banda, said polytechnic colleges would pilot the programme.

“Some students have already done a certificate course in project management and that was in June at the Bulawayo Poly. In December, the advanced course will be offered at all polytechnics in the country. With time, more courses are expected to be offered at various tertiary institutions,” said Mr Banda.
He said the courses were part of an effort by the Government to resuscitate critical skills training and stem brain drain in the country.

Mr Banda said Zimbabwean lecturers at the South African College would come to the country to conduct the training programmes. He said a yet to be signed Memorandum of Agreement between employers and trainees, sought to have graduates paid in foreign currency so as to retain the skills base and arrest brain-drain.

The senior lecturer said the courses were open to practicing professionals like project managers, civil engineers, programme officers and information technology managers.
He said the comprehensive advanced course will be held at the Harare Polytechnic from 1 to 5 December and in Bulawayo from 8 to 12 December, adding that registration was already in progress at the Bulawayo Polytechnic.

Mr Banda said the course content included Fundamentals of Project Management, Project Planning, Project Implementation and Project Monitoring and Evaluation.
He said the course was initially supposed to take five weeks, with a day in each week spent in class, but financial logistics had forced them to do it in five days.

Mr Banda said various organisations that include Air Zimbabwe, World Vision and Zimra had been approached by the Ministry and they expressed interest in being part of the initiative.

Students who took part in the certificate programme expressed enthusiasm with going to the next stage saying the programme had opened their eyes to innovative and efficacious business practices.
“From day one, my perception of business ideals and objectives underwent an evolution. I now work smarter, with a highly increased average output relative to time frame and effort. My confidence has also been boosted because I know I can deliver above expectations using this course,” said Mrs Ntombi Muchuchuti, a psychological support manager at a local company.

Speaking at the same occasion the Head of Regenesys Business School, Mrs Phici Mbatha, said her school provided a holistic approach to learning thus making it relevant and more fun.
“We train people to survive in the new global village of connectedness. We train leaders who are visionaries, not afraid to take calculated risks, are willing to swim against the tide when the need dictates and exhibit moral courage and empathy,” she said.

Ministry teams up with SA business school | The Cronicle

Please Note: Postponed

The Regenesys Business School / Zimbabwe Advanced Project Management training programme that was initially to be held from 8 – 12 December 2008 in Harare and 15 – 20 December in Bulawayo has been postponed to 26 – 30 January 2009 in Bulawayo and 2 – 6 February 2009 in Harare.

The postponement of the training is due to the recent outbreak of the cholera pandemic in Zimbabwe.

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