Project No. UNJP/SFS/002/UID

Revitalization of forest training centres in the SADC region for green employment – Phase I

Training needs assessment study report for the forestry, forest industry and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sectors in Zimbabwe

Lloyd Mubaiwa

Harare, Zimbabwe

September, 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABREVIATIONS IV

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1

2. INTRODUCTION 2

2.1 Background 22.2 Definition and Purpose of Training Needs Assessment 32.3 Objectives of the Training Needs Assessment (TNA) 32.4 TNA Methodology 5

2.4.1 Survey questionnaires 52.4.2 Interviews 6

3. ANALYSIS OF ZIMBABWE FOREST SECTOR AND THE JOB MARKET 6

3.1 Legislative and Institutional Provisions 63.2 Opportunities in Woodland Management 83.3 Opportunities in Commercial Plantation Forests 9

3.3.1 Plantation forest resource base 103.4 Wood based MSMEs sector 12

4. FORESTRY AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN ZIMBABWE 13

4.1 Institutional analysis 134.1.1 Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education 134.1.2 Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate 134.1.3 Timber Producers Federation (TPF) as PPDP 14

4.2 History of Forestry Education and Training 144.3 Wood processing training 154.4 Vocational Training 16

5. TNA STUDY FINDINGS 16

5.1 ZCF/FITC training 165.1.1 ZCF/FITC lecturers 165.1.2 Forestry and wood technology curriculum 185.1.3 ZCF/FITC training facilities 185.1.4 Linkages with other institutions 18

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5.2 Manicaland Plantation Timber Industry 195.2.1 Training needs of Forestry Companies 195.2.2 Training needs of MSMEs in plantation timber industry 20

5.3 Training needs of Government and Municipalities 205.4 Matebeleland Indigenous Hardwood Industry Training Needs 21

6. ANALYSIS OF TNA RESULTS 22

6.1 Gaps in ZCF/FITC curriculum implementation 226.1.1 Assessment of training facilities 226.1.2 Assessment of lecturer competences 236.1.3 Assessment of ZCF/FITC curriculum 24

6.2 Analysis of training needs of plantation timber industry 246.3 Analysis of training needs of MSMEs in Manicaland 256.4 Analysis of training needs in Matebeleland 25

7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION 25

7.1 Keep the training curricula in sync with forest sector changes 257.2 Improve competence of lecturers 267.3 Rehabilitate training facilities for effective education and training 277.4 Scale up short courses to raise ZCF/FITC training profile 287.5 Organize innovative financing for students training 287.6 Rebranding ZCF/FITC for effective institutional marketing 297.7 Conclusions 29

8. REFERENCES 30

List of Annexes

Annex 1. Survey questionnaire to identify training needs in the forest sector in Zimbabwe 31

Annex 2: Estimate of Resources and Implementation Schedule 39Annex 3: Logical framework matrix forestry education training in Zimbabwe 42

List of Tables Table 1: Target respondents for the TNA questionnaires 5Table 2: Outline of lecturers’ qualifications, experience and training needs 16Table 3: Results of lecturers’ views on their work performance 17

List of Figures:

Figure 1: Plantation Area 1995 - 2014 10Figure 2: Roundwood and sawn timber 11Figure 3: Employment in the formal forest sector 12

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ABREVIATIONS

B-Tech Bachelor of Technology (Zimbabwe)BUSE Bindura University of Science EducationCAMPFIRE Communal Area Management Programme for Indigenous ResourcesCD Curriculum documentCIFOR Centre for International Forestry ResearchDGM R&T Deputy General Manager Research and Training (Forestry Commission)EMA Environmental Management Agency (of Zimbabwe)ESAP Economic Structural Adjustment ProgrammeFAO Food and Agriculture Organisation FC Forest CommissionFC HQ Forestry Commission Head QuartersFITC Forest Industries Training Centre FLEGT Forest law compliance and governanceGoZ Government of ZimbabweGM General Manager (of Forestry Commission)IUCN International Union for Conservation of Nature ILO International Labor OrganisationLSU Lupane State UniversityMHTE Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education (of Zimbabwe)MPC Mutare Polytechnic CollegeMSME Micro, small and medium enterprisesMSU Midlands State UniversityMTC Mutare Teachers CollegeNAMACO The National Manpower Advisory Council NGO Non-Governmental OrganisationNUST National University of Science and TechnologyNWFP Non-wood forest productPPDP Public Private Development Partnership RDC Rural District Council (of Zimbabwe)REDD+ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest DegradationSAA Sustainable Afforestation AssociationSADC Southern African Development CommunitySAFIRE Southern Alliance for Indigenous ResourcesSAQA South African Qualification AuthorityTNA Training needs assessmentTPF Timber Producers’ Federation (of Zimbabwe)UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development OrganisationVIDCO Village development committeeWARDCO Ward development committeeZCF Zimbabwe College of ForestryZCF/FITC Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Forest Industries Training CentreZim Asset Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic TransformationZIMDEF Zimbabwe Manpower Development Fund

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1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Zimbabwe has experienced an economic downturn characterised by unprecedented recession and hyperinflation, which has seen the scaling down of operations, closure of some wood pro-cessing plants and massive unemployment in the formal forest sector and a surge in related micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). These changes have also affected the quality of forestry education and training and enrolment numbers at Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Forest Industries Training Centre (ZCF/FITC). The vision for forestry education and train-ing is that provision of trained personnel is catalytic to the future development of the forest sector in Zimbabwe. To facilitate this development process, it is imperative that a review of the ZCF/FITC curriculum is undertaken as a matter of urgency to embrace the emerging issues, including MSMEs and in-service training programmes demanded by the forest sector.

This Training Needs Assessment Study proposes that training capacity should be built through improvements on facilities and lecturers’ competences during the next 5 years, to enable the college to implement the new curriculum. The Public Private Development Partnership between the ZCF/FITC and Timber Producers Federation (TPF) need to be strengthened in order to get a win-win situation for the forest sector in Zimbabwe. It is also recommended that the college lecturers organize and run short courses jointly with experienced field staff and forestry equipment suppliers, to help them acquire relevant skills that will enhance the profile of forestry education and training in the country.

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2. INTRODUCTION

2.1 Background

The Zimbabwe economy has gone through some dramatic changes during the past two decades characterised by recession, hyperinflation, collapse of the formal sector and emergence of the informal sector. This was triggered by the land reform programme, which sought to economically empower the majority indigenous populace through land redistribution and the imposition of sanctions by the international community. The growth of the informal sector is known to be synonymous with the government’s adoption and implementation of the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) of 1990-95, which was characterised by downsizing of economic structures and massive retrenchments. Prior to this period the formal sector was booming to the extent that the informal sector was almost non-existent. The dramatic economic changes during the past two decades has driven the country from a highly productive formal economy to almost informal, to the extent that government itself provided windows for the promotion of informal sector. Humankind is apt to devising survival coping strategies when it faces excruciating pain and unbearable pressure. In 1998, the economy drifted into its worst crisis characterised by hyperinflation, under-employment and rising poverty. According to the government’s Central Statistics Office, inflation shot from 32% in 1998 to about 11,200,000% in August 2008, resulting in the introduction of 10 trillion dollar notes, which did not even last for a month before the Central Bank switched over to use of a basket of currencies that included mainly the United States dollar, South African rand and Botswana pula. In the last days of 2009, the central bank printed a lot of local currency notes for sale on the informal market in an effort to survive. Such were extremes of the formal institution employing informal means to breathe a new lease of life into the national economy. It is estimated that formal employment shrunk by about 80% during this period, forcing many to join the informal employment industry.

However, in order to catalyse the economy, Government of Zimbabwe (2014) recently developed a five year turn-around plan code named “Zim Asset” (Zimbabwe Agenda for Socio-Economic Transformation). The plan is meant to be results based and aims to guide national development through implementation of targets set in four identified clusters, namely, food and nutrition security; social services and poverty eradication; infrastructure and utilities; and value addition and beneficiation. One of the identified key strength for this development process is the skilled human and natural resource capital. For the forest sector to effectively play its role, it is imperative that training institutions continue to produce adequately trained manpower to sustainably manage and utilize forest resources. An assessment of the training requirements of forestry and forest industry sectors and the capacity of training institutions to provide the service should thus provide a good basis for strengthening forestry education and training in Zimbabwe.

The forestry and forest industry sectors have equally been affected, resulting in massive deforestation, forest degradation, biodiversity loss, and reduction of the productive forest resource base, closure of many manufacturing plants and loss of jobs, which has changed the landscape of forestry in Zimbabwe as people turned to the forests for employment and safety nets. This shift from formal to predominantly informal forest enterprises has demanded new coping strategies and competencies for the forest sector organisations, employees and communities whose livelihoods are highly dependent on forests and trees.

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More than ever before, forestry is now expected to play a pivotal role in environmental protection, socio-economic development, poverty reduction and generally improving community livelihoods. FAO (2002) estimates the rate of deforestation in the country at an average of 1.48% per annum during the period 1990-2010. The major drivers of deforestation include agricultural and settlements expansion, infrastructure development and indiscriminate felling of trees for domestic fuelwood, brick burning and tobacco curing. Thus, forestry is expected to contribute more towards creating “green jobs”, which are defined as any job that genuinely contributes to a sustainable world (http://www.goodwork). Jobs are green when they help to reduce negative environmental impacts and result in improved well-being of communities. Terms such as “green”, “environmentally sustainable”, “ecologically compatible”, etc. are often used interchangeably to describe processes that are friendly to the environment. Forest education and training marks the beginning of this green chain whereby trained personnel in the forest sector are expected to play their role in sustainable forest management. This entails among other things, addressing deforestation, climate change mitigation and adaptation, illegal logging and associated trade, biodiversity conservation, landscape enhancement and increasing the range of forest products for improved food security. In addition, the rapid technological changes in the forest sector in response to demands for sustainable forest management, more efficient utilisation of forest resources, higher quality standards and increased value addition, have in turn demanded additional skills from forestry and wood technology graduates. These emerging issues demand a new breed of foresters and wood scientists.

In coping with the challenges facing the forest sector, forestry companies who used to fund a number of candidates for training at Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Forest Industries Training Centre (ZCF/FITC) have scaled down or stopped the funding altogether. Consequently, the enrolment numbers for forestry and wood technology training have declined sharply resulting in failure by the college to run some programmes especially the certificate studies. ZCF/FITC used to enjoy a significant percentage of students from the region but the numbers have also dwindled. It is therefore important that a training needs assessment is carried out for the forest sector in order to establish the basis for the college’s response to its challenges.

2.2 Definition and Purpose of Training Needs Assessment

Training needs assessment (TNA) is an important activity of the training and development cycle. To be effective and efficient, all training programmes should be preceded by a TNA. It also forms the benchmark for assessment of training effectiveness and helps organisations to achieve their production goals. Brown (1996) defines training needs assessment as “the process of identifying training needs in an organisation for the purpose of improving employee job performance”. It is the process to identify gaps between employee knowledge, skills, behaviour and abilities and those required by the job or the sector. Training, as a performance improvement tool is needed when employees are not performing up to a certain standard or expected level of performance. The difference between the actual level of job performance and the expected level of job performance thus indicates a need for training.

Training needs assessment is therefore the process one engages in to discover the training and development needs of people so that they carry out their job effectively and efficiently. It is like detective work; one follows up on every lead, checks every piece of information and examines every alternative decision before drawing conclusions on why, what, who, when, where and how training should be done. As indicated above, the pace and nature of changes in the economy, changes in laws and regulations, changes in technology and changes in employment patterns over the past two decades, necessitated the need for conducting a training needs survey in Zimbabwe. In addition, the proposed SADC regional project aimed at strengthening forestry and wood technology institutions, has a component which required a detailed training needs assessment on Zimbabwe.

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2.3 Objectives of the Training Needs Assessment (TNA)

A Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional programme on Strengthening Forestry and Wood Technology Training Centres for Green Employment is being prepared jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO). The four target countries are Malawi, Zambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. To facilitate preparation of the 4-5 years Programme document, feasibility and baseline studies, stakeholder sensitization workshops and training needs assessments were carried out in the four participating countries. This training needs assessment covers Zimbabwe’s forestry and forest industry sectors in Manicaland and Matabeleland, including the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in carpentry and joinery. It was undertaken to provide detailed baseline information for improvement of training facilities and the development of appropriate curricula for both forestry and forest industry education and training at the Zimbabwe College of Forestry (ZCF) and Forest Industries Training Centre (FITC) respectively.

The overall objective of the training needs assessment was to identify and assess the current training needs of the forestry and forest industry sectors, including wood based micro and small to medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Zimbabwe. The assessment was expected to cover the workers’ competency based skills gap analysis, curricula content for long and short courses and training facilities of ZCF/FITC in order to determine short, medium and long term capacity building priorities for the forestry and wood processing sectors. The training needs assessment would thus contribute towards the development of Zimbabwe National Project as part of the proposed FAO/UNIDO SADC Programme on Strengthening Forestry Education.

The specific tasks were to:

1) Develop a Training Needs Assessment (TNA) study methodology and materials for the exercise.

2) Hold consultations and collaboration meetings with education and training institutions, and relevant government officers to understand and assess current forestry degree, diploma and especially vocational training courses offered in forestry in Zimbabwe.

3) Review existing literature and studies, including the Situation Analysis report, FAO/UNIDO project documents, and other relevant project reports in Zimbabwe and SADC region, on development of forestry education and training.

4) Prepare a TNA questionnaire to conduct a field survey to establish gaps on workers’ skills and training needs in forestry and wood processing sectors.

5) Carry out the TNA study in the most important forestry regions and districts in Zimbabwe (Manicaland and Matebeleland).

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6) Analyse the training needs within the subject areas and prioritising them for curricula development of the forestry education institutions in Zimbabwe.

7) Identify range of formal education and short courses training programmes to be offered in Zimbabwean forestry education.

8) Provide recommendations on how to achieve and maintain balanced approach to strengthen formal forestry (higher degree / diploma) and vocational (competence based education) education with a support of short courses training (apprenticeship, on-the-job and refresher courses) programmes.

9) Identify key challenges and training needs for staff of the forestry education institution in Zimbabwe for strengthening of forestry education, training and extension services.

10) Recommend innovative capacity building approaches and mode of training delivery to strengthen workers level training, enterprise development and MSMEs development as part of the upcoming Zimbabwe National Project.

11) Recommend institutional frameworks and modalities to facilitate start-up and organisation of the recommended forestry education supplies in Zimbabwe.

12) Develop a draft report with the following characteristics:a. Defining workers strength, weaknesses and areas of improvement by

looking at technical knowledge, skills and competences. b. Find out employers’ and workers expectations on forestry and wood

processing workers’ occupational profiles. c. Developing summary of findings, recommendations and schedules for the

implementation. Develop a draft logical framework proposing a set of objectives, outputs and programmatic activities for strengthening forestry curricula and mode of delivery of forestry education and training in Zimbabwe with a clear monitoring framework.

2.4 TNA Methodology

There are many methods for conducting a training needs assessment and the use of each one of them depends on the situation. In this training needs assessment a com-bination of survey questionnaires and interviews were used to collect data from a wide range of target groups in Manicaland, the centre of commercial timber plantations and in Matebeleland, the heart of commercial indigenous hardwood industry. The target groups included lecturers at ZCF/FITC, forestry companies, individual employees and wood based enterprises.

2.4.1 Survey questionnaires

Three survey questionnaires were designed to collect data from three main groups: the ZFC/FITC lecturers, to identify their key challenges and training needs; the em-ployers, or forestry companies, associations and cooperatives, to assess training re-quirements of their employees and curricula improvements at ZCF/FITC; and indi-vidual employees, machine operators, small scale forestry entrepreneurs, to assess their training requirements. The questionnaires were designed to extract information from respondents through a combination of formatted statements that were open ended, projective and on a priority ranked scale.

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The questionnaire for ZCF/FITC staff employed the Hennessy-Hicks technique de-signed for the health sector but adaptable to other disciplines. The instrument aims to identify training needs at individual, group or organisational levels and to prioritize them. It is based on psychometric principles and is designed to ensure that respond-ents are less likely to distort their responses, which makes the data obtained more accurate in reflecting the training requirements. The instrument requires the respond-ent to rate a task on a scale of 1-7 on its importance as well as on how the individual performs the same task. The greater the difference between the two scores, the greater the training need. For example, where a task gets a high rating on A but a low rating on B, the need for training is high and should be prioritised. Where the task is rated low on A and B, then the task could be considered for training but as a lower priority. No training would be required if both A and B are high, i.e. important task, well performed. Where A is rated low and B is rated high, it means that there is no training needed i.e. important task, well performed.

The questionnaires were used because of their versatility in reaching out to many people at the same time, which saves time. They also enable honest and unbiased feedback and for the responses to be made without fear of embarrassment. It is also important to note that questionnaires give a broad picture of what a large number of respondents think while allowing everyone to feel that they have played a part in the needs assessment process.

Table 1: Target respondents for the TNA questionnaires

Target Group No. TargetedZCF & FITC 10Plantation timber companies 13Plantation timber - forestry employees 18Plantation timber – sawmill employees 12Plantation timber – sawdoctors 5Plantation timber MSMEs 18Forestry Commission Conservation & Extension 20Municipal Councils 3Firewood vendors 3Curio carvers 15Hardwood sawmillers 3Hardwood furniture manufacturers – large scale 8Hardwood furniture manufacturers – MSMEs 10Total 148

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A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed to the forest sector in Manicaland and Matebeleland and 148 of them were returned. In some cases the consultant had to follow up with interviews and focus group discussions on specific groups in order to obtain responses. Most MSMEs and curio carvers were interviewed in groups as they are represented by associations.

2.4.2 Interviews

The survey questionnaires were followed up with formal structured interviews with some targeted groups to extract more information, clarifications and spontaneous feedback. The advantages of interviews are that they allow one to meet people face to face and to discuss their impressions of the performance. It is therefore possible to explore responses in depth and to have full understanding of their deficiencies.

The interviews were particularly useful on small scale entrepreneurs most of whom had constraints in completing the questionnaire or could not afford time to complete it.

3. ANALYSIS OF ZIMBABWE FOREST SECTOR AND THE JOB MARKET

3.1 Legislative and Institutional Provisions

The forest sector in Zimbabwe is organized into three broad sub-sectors; forestry, forest industry and informal wood based micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). There are a number of legislative instruments that provide for the creation of institutions, which have specific responsibilities on forestry and these provide employment opportunities in forestry and wood industry in Zimbabwe. A synopsis of the main legal provisions and institutions responsible for their implementation will be given to enable broader understanding of the diverse range of stakeholders for forestry training in the country.

The Forest Act (Cap 19.05): The Forest Act provides for establishment of the Forestry Commission and its mandates firstly, as a forest authority to protect and conserve forests, and secondly as a forest enterprise to regulate and supervise timber trade by private land holders and concessionaires. The Act thus empowers the Forestry Commission to manage about 850,000 ha of gazetted forests in Matabeleland North and Mafungabusi in Gokwe and to own nearly 50,000 ha of land in the eastern highlands for plantation forest establishment. As a forest authority, it also provides for forestry extension, research and training. The Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Forest Industries Training Centre were established specifically to provide trained manpower for the forest sector in Zimbabwe and the SADC region respectively.

Communal Lands Forest Produce Act: This provides for establishment of timber plantations in communal areas and use of forest resources for domestic consumption. It also provides a list of reserved trees and prohibits their use unless one obtains a timber harvesting permit. The Forestry Commission is expected to implement the provisions of this Act. However, with one forester employed at district level, it is virtually impossible to monitor and control the protection of these reserved trees, most of which are extensively harvested illegally for domestic use and informal curio carving industry.

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Rural District Councils Act, 1988: This Act gives Rural District Councils (RDCs) the responsibility for long term planning, enactment of local by-laws to regulate use, issue licences for commercial exploitation and establishment of Natural Resources Committees for effective management of natural resources. The Forestry Commission is thus expected to work closely with the RDCs in order to sustainably manage forest resources under their jurisdiction. In this regard, conflict has sometimes been experienced between Forestry Commission and the RDC on who collects and benefits from the permit fees. While the Forestry Commission’s district foresters provide the required technical expertise, some RDCs have gone further to employ their own foresters to facilitate effective management of their resources. It is expected that as more RDCs recognize the importance of forest resources in the economic development of their districts, more foresters will find employment opportunities there.

Traditional Leaders Act, 2000: This Act gives local traditional leaders powers to chair the state created institutions, namely WARDCO and VIDCOs (ward and village development committees) and to manage local resources for community benefit. It entails that forest management and beneficiation must be devolved onto the local communities if sustainability in resource utilisation is to be achieved. While the RDC controls resource use at district level, traditional leaders tend to control village level resources utilisation. In this regard, some non-governmental organisations have partnered with communities in providing incentives for woodland conservation through projects based on non-wood forest products such as value addition on indigenous fruits, beekeeping and honey production, etc. Some of these NGOs employ a significant number of trained forestry personnel most of whom were trained by ZCF and FITC.

Land Acquisition Act, 1993: This provides for expropriation of commercial agricultural farms for land redistribution and resettlement. Some of the gazetted resettlement farms contained natural woodlands and forest plantations that needed sustainable management but due to political pressure for agricultural land, most of these forests were destroyed. Timber Producers Federation statistics indicate that prior to the land reform programme there were 156,000 ha of timber plantations in Zimbabwe, which have since dwindled to about half that area as a result of the destruction of mainly eucalyptus plantations on farms acquired for resettlement. However, the recent launch of a new afforestation initiative by the tobacco industry to address deforestation arising from tobacco curing appears to make significant inroads in restoring plantations particularly in tobacco growing areas. While the uptake of forestry graduates by the commercial timber industry is shrinking, employment of foresters by the tobacco industry appears to be expanding rapidly. It is estimated that over 20 foresters have been absorbed into the tobacco industry in the past two years. Environmental Management Act (Cap 20.27): This Act provides for the formation of the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), whose overarching mandate is to protect the environment. While Forestry Commission has the mandate to manage the forest resources, EMA provides oversight and institutes penalty fines on illegal activities. Joint monitoring operations by both organisations on illegal movement of timber and raising community awareness on fire protection have yielded good results but failure to maintain their continued presence on the ground has resulted in extensive destruction of forests. EMA absorbs forestry graduates from Zimbabwe College of Forestry and universities that offer Environmental Science degrees.

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National Parks and Wildlife Management Act amended 1982: The Act aims at protecting the wildlife resources while allowing sustainable commercial utilisation by owners and occupiers of land. This has been the legal basis for Zimbabwe’s successful Communal Areas Management Programme for Indigenous Resources (CAMPFIRE) programme, which advocates for community management and beneficiation from wildlife resources. Forests provide habitats to terrestrial wildlife resources and their conservation in the form of game parks and conservancies has helped Zimbabwe to be a significant player in the wildlife safari industry. The National Parks and Wildlife Authority has its own training institutions for wildlife management and these are complemented by graduates from state universities such as Lupane State Universities (LSU), Midlands State University (MSU) and National University of Science and Technology (NUST). It should be noted that the multiplicity of legislative instruments on forestry has at times caused duplication, contradictions and confusion regarding roles and responsib-ilities among the various institutions involved in the management of forest resources. The Forestry Commission realizes that forest policy, legislative and institutional re-forms are necessary for improvement of resource management and beneficiation at local community level. To minimize this problem, a European Union funded project is currently being implemented through FAO technical support to develop a clear forest policy and national forest programme based on popular stakeholder participation. Provision of professionally trained manpower to the forestry sector generally lies with the Forestry Commission and the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education through the universities. ZCF/FITC has over the years provided both professional technical level training and short in-service courses for the forest sector in Zimbabwe and in the southern African region.

3.2 Opportunities in Woodland Management

Natural woody vegetation is estimated to cover 65% of Zimbabwe’s 39 million ha of land area (Nhira, 1998). The woodlands are generally grouped into 6 categories based on the dominant species (Mubaiwa, 2004). Each woodland type plays a critical role to the livelihoods of local communities, hence the need for their sustainable manage-ment. A brief overview of each woodland type will be given in order to understand their importance to the economy, employment and provision of trained personnel into the forest sector.

Miombo woodlands:Dominated by Brachystegia and Julbernardia species in association with Isoberlinia species, miombo woodlands are the most common vegetation type, which provides a wide range of forest products such as edible mushrooms, construction poles and fuel-wood to over 70% of rural communities in Zimbabwe. They are also known to contain the greatest variety and quantity of edible wild fruits than all the other vegetation types. Apart from being harvested for consumption and sale by local communities, some of the wild fruits such as Strychnos, Uapaca, Azanza, Vitex, Ziziphus and Ber-chemia species have been considered for domestication, commercialisation and value addition by both the Forestry Commission and some NGOs. There is thus a huge potential for jobs related to improvement of rural livelihoods, health, value addition, energy provision, land restoration, etc.

The Zambezi teak forests:

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Dominated by Baikiaea plurijuga, Pterocarpus angolensis, Guibourtia coleosperma and Afzelia quanzensis these woodlands occur in north-western Zimbabwe where they occupy about 5% of the land area. They are important ecologically in protecting the Zambezi catchment against erosion of the fragile deep Kalahari sandy soils. They offer excellent habitat for wildlife, which forms the backbone of Zimbabwe’s eco-tour-ism industry. The Forestry Commission manages about 850,000 ha of gazetted forests in north western Zimbabwe. In addition, it also assists Rural District Councils to manage over 3 million hectares of forests in the region. The dominant trees are also commercially harvested for sawn timber which produces high value furniture, decking timber, railway sleepers and curio carvings. The efficient management of these forests is also aimed at protecting the Zambezi River catchment, which is important for hydro-power generation in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. The employment potential for both forestry and wood technology graduates in this region is huge.Acacia woodlands:Dominated by acacia species, these woodlands occur in arid and semi-arid areas along vleis and are important for their nutritious browse for livestock and wildlife. There is therefore potential for employment in wildlife management fodder production and generally rural livelihoods improvement.

Mopane woodlands:Mopane woodlands occur in drier lower areas and on major river catchments on sodic soils. They provide excellent high calorific fire-wood and nutritious browse to animals. Edible caterpillars (Imbrasia belina) are harvested in some areas and traded as a tra-ditional delicacy in most hotels in the Southern African region. The potential for jobs related to sustainable management and utilisation of firewood and commercialisation of non-wood forest products therefore cannot be over-emphasized. Non-governmental organisations such as SAFIRE and Environment Africa have made major contributions to rural incomes through value addition of such NWFP in Zimbabwe.

Terminalia/Combretum woodlands:These woodlands occur on most sandy soils in drier areas and are important for soil conservation, biodiversity conservation and indigenous medicines. Their sustainable management presents new challenges to foresters in terms of biodiversity utilisation and sustainable harvesting. Closed montane forests:Closed montane forests occur in small isolated parts in the eastern highlands where rainfall is high (over 1200 mm). They provide excellent habitat for wildlife, namely birds baboons, monkeys and other small game. The forests are also well known for their wide range of traditional medicinal plants, which have generally popularised traditional healers in Manicaland.

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Perhaps, Forestry Commission is the largest employer of forestry graduates in view of its mandate as the forestry authority. Its operations are geographically spread through-out the country and involve forest conservation, extension, community forestry, forest regulation, research and training. The FC also carries out sawmilling operations on selected indigenous hardwood timber species and issues harvesting permits to con-cessionaires for the production of sawnwood and value added products. Other gov-ernment departments involved in forest management include Environmental Manage-ment Agency, which has an oversight role on environmental management; National Parks and Wildlife Authority, which is responsible for wildlife management and its sus-tainable utilisation; and Rural District Councils, who have the responsibility to manage natural resources including forests for the benefit of local communities. The govern-ment efforts on sustainable forest management are complemented by environmental non-governmental organisations such as Environment Africa and Southern Alliance for Indigenous Resources (SAFIRE). There are also international forestry institutions that assist government with policy development and technical support and these include World Wildlife Fund for Nature Conservation (WWF), International Union on Conserva-tion of Nature (IUCN), Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

3.3 Opportunities in Commercial Plantation Forests

The country’s exotic commercial forest plantations occupy about 85,000 ha and are mainly located in the high rainfall, high elevation eastern highlands. The major species grown include pines (Pinus patula, Pinus elliottii and Pinus taeda), which account for over 70% of the plantations; eucalyptus (Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus cloeziana and Eucalyptus camaldulensis), which take up about 15%; and wattle (Acacia mearnsii) accounting for approximately 12%. The pines are mainly grown for sawn timber, eucalyptus for poles and wattle for its bark that is harvested for tannin extract. The pulpwood market has virtually disappeared with the closure of board and paper mill factories due to the harsh economic environment. Most of the timber that was grown on pulpwood regime and timber from thinning operations are currently being harvested for sawn timber by small scale mobile millers.

A significant proportion of the plantation forest area has been environmentally certified to meet export market requirements. In addition, the industry developed self-regulat-ory environmental guidelines for sustainable forest management. The industry is oligo-poly and vertically integrated with three major companies involved in forest develop-ment, processing and marketing. However, this trend appears to be changing as some of the companies now contract out most of their silviculture, harvesting and saw-milling operations to small scale mobile millers who account for over 20% of total pro-duction by the forest industry.

3.3.1 Plantation forest resource base

The land reform programme also affected the commercial plantation timber industry; with both private and government owned properties being lost to forest resettlements. According to Timber Producers Federation statistics for 2014, 195 families illegally occupied about 8 000 ha of plantation forests. The situation was worsened by newly resettled local communities who triggered arson related forest fires, which in 2006 destroyed nearly 25% of the forest plantations. Some attempts to implement a forest based land reform programme, which recognized forestry as a legitimate and viable land-use option and proposed that forested areas earmarked for resettlement should prioritize professionally trained foresters did not win the support of politicians. As a result, the uncertainty on long term ownership of the plantations forced many of the companies to scale down operations or even close down, which in turn triggered an influx of politically driven timber harvesting, over harvesting and arson related forest fires. Timber Producers Federation statistics indicate that there was a sharp decline in forest plantations from 156,000 ha in 1995 to 85,000 ha in 2014 (Figure 1).

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Figure 1: Plantation Area 1995 - 2014

1995 2000 2005 2009 20140

20000400006000080000

100000120000140000160000180000

156000

120182108214

89862 85026

Hac

ters

Year

It is normal that continued decline in the plantation resource base cannot be expected to provide a favourable environment for employment of forestry and wood technology graduates, hence the corresponding decrease in the annual student enrolment at the training institutions.

However, this trend of diminishing industrial forest area is expected to change in the near future with the ambitious afforestation initiative that was started in 2014 by Sus-tainable Afforestation Association (SAA) funded by Zimbabwe’s tobacco merchants. The programme aims to establish 5,000 ha of fuelwood plantations annually for the next 7 years in partnership with land owners in tobacco growing areas throughout the country. The Joint Venture Partnership between SAA and its farmers is expected to last for 3 harvesting cycles or 20 years, during which period a new forest business unit would have been developed for the farmer. The response from land owners has been overwhelming, with 4,000 ha of eucalyptus plantations already established with 32 partners. SAA has offered new opportunities not just for employment, but for intern-ships and industrial attachment for students.

3.3.1.1 Forest industries

The hyper-inflation and economic instability during the period 2008 to 2010 coupled with the government’s black empowerment policy that advocated for a shareholding ratio of 51:49 in favour of local indigenous entrepreneurs seriously affected the forest sector. For example, only 42 out of 54 sawmills continued to operate; the only match factory in the country closed down; one of the two pulp and paper companies stopped operating; and one particle and fibre board plant closed.

Both pine and eucalyptus roundwood production decreased by about 50% from 845,900 m³ in 2000 to 432,300 m³ in 2014 and from 240,600 m³ to 111,800 m³ re-spectively. Sawn timber production declined by 43% from 342,500 m³ to 194,200 m³ and poles declined by about 60% from 80,200 m³ to 30,700 m³ during the same period. Figure 2 shows the five year changes in roundwood and sawn timber produc-tion over the period 2000 to 2014.

Figure 2: Roundwood and sawn timber

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2000 2005 2009 20140

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It is interesting to note that contract sawmilling emerged from being non-existent in 2000 to over 20% of industry production in 2014. Another observation is that log re-covery by contract sawmills was 49% on pines compared to an average of 43% at sawmills owned by large companies. This indicates that as the resource base shrinks, small scale operators who do not own plantations tend to maximize recovery as op-posed to large scale operators who own the resources.

3.3.1.2 Employment changes

During the time when the forest industry was vibrant, the plantation forest industry em-ployed about 15,000 people but this number had shrunk to less than 4,000 by 2014 in response to the harsh socio-economic operating environment (Figure 3). The closure of companies has resulted in large scale unemployment, which has forced both skilled and unskilled people to resort to informal and sometimes “illegal” activities in order to survive. Some of the people either went into informal sector to service the industry as contractors and small scale entrepreneurs or left the country to find employment in neighbouring countries.

Figure 3: Employment in the formal forest sector

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1995 2000 2005 2009 20140

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To cut down on operating costs, large corporate organisations engaged contractors in silvicultural operations, timber harvesting, log transportation, mobile sawmilling and product transportation to local and export markets. In some cases enterprising non-professionals who saw opportunities in forestry capitalised the situation to compete for the few contracts available.

As already indicated above, there are new employment opportunities in SAA, who within a year, has employed 17 professional foresters and accommodated 14 students on industrial attachment and interns.

3.4 Wood based MSMEs sector

Micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Zimbabwean are recognized through the establishment of the Ministry of Small to Medium Enterprises. It is estimated that there are 394,000 MSMEs in Manicaland and about 137,000 in Matebeleland and over 60% of which are wood based (The Herald Thurday 8 October 2015). Only 25% of them operate from designated places while the rest operate from residential places, growth points and along roads mostly in urban areas. MSMEs are known to contribute about two thirds to global GDP, 50% to global employment and 40% of global exports. The world’s successful economies such as Japan are driven by MSMEs, which are heavily supported by their government. The success of MSMEs in Zimbabwe has been difficult to realize mainly because of limited support from government institutions such as ZimTrade who should nurture and facilitate their development. This entails organizing workshops, seminars, conferences and facilitating participation in interna-tional trade fairs and disseminating export market information. The situation is worsened by the many big companies who tend to compete against MSMEs instead of developing business linkages and mentoring them to produce quality products that complement and result in a win-win situation.

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While in most developed countries MSMEs are formal and contribute directly to na-tional economy, in developing countries they tend to be informal and hardly contribute to government treasury through taxes (Chirisa, 2009). Wood based informal sector in Manicaland has grown rapidly during the past decade and it is estimated that the num-ber has grown from about 7,000 in 2009 to over 20,000 in 2013 absorbing many who lost their jobs through company closures. It should be borne in mind that the key fea-tures of informal sector are clear: very low investment, due to lack of capital; the scramble for resources, which often results in over-exploitation and rapid depletion; proliferation of processes and products that are similar, thereby suffering competition; and generally poor quality of products or service, which often pause serious marketing challenges. There is need to provide education and training to this group and to create incentives that will see the wood based informal sector increasing its contribution to government treasury. Obviously, the opportunities for self-employment and skills up-grading training in this rapidly growing sub-sector presents growth potential for forestry training institutions.

4. FORESTRY AND WOOD TECHNOLOGY EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN ZIMBABWE

4.1 Institutional analysis

The greatest investment any country, sector, organisation or family can make is in its people. With the availability of well-resourced institutions, educated employees have the potential to catalyse development and catapult the country’s economy to a higher level. Although Zimbabwe is currently going through a difficult economic period that has crippled industry, forestry education and training should be continued in order to stimulate employment in the forest sector. The overall responsibility for professional training in Zimbabwe rests with the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education (MHTE), supported by the sector Ministries. In forestry for example, while the latter has the general mandate for tertiary education and skills training, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate has the final responsibility to ensure that personnel are trained to meet national sectoral development goals.

4.1.1 Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education

Within the MHTE, the Division of Manpower Planning and Institutional Development deals with human resource planning and institutional development while the Division of Standards Development and Quality Assurance deals with the qualitative aspects of training. To facilitate and strengthen linkages with the industry, the National Manpower Advisory Council (NAMACO) was established by an Act of Parliament to investigate and make recommendations to the MHTE on matters affecting national manpower development and training. NAMACO’s mandate is to provide policy advice on human resources development to the MHTE and seeks to promote public-private develop-ment partnerships (PPDPs) and to address the mismatch between the quality of graduates coming from training institutions and the demands of the labour market. It operates through sector committees, whose terms of reference include developing a sector database of expertise, conducting sector market surveys, facilitating industrial attachments for students and developing career pathways for the sector. The MHTE also oversees the national universities and vocational training institutions that offer skills based training. Polytechnic institutes in major cities such as Harare, Bulawayo, Gweru, Masvingo and Mutare, also offer wood related training in carpentry and joinery at certificate, diploma and at times at degree level. In addition, there are over 20 vocational training centres in the country, which offer carpentry and joinery courses in line with government’s thrust on skills development. However, their links with the timber industry appears to be very weak.

4.1.2 Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate

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The Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate offers specialised training in forestry and wildlife management through its departmental units namely Forestry Commission, the National Parks and of Wildlife Management Authority. Their funding is derived from government budgetary allocations and own generated revenue. The Forestry Commission is a parastatal organisation which manages Zimbabwe College of Forestry and the Forestry Industries Training Centre as one institution under the Re-search and Training Division. They are the only two colleges offering technical level in forestry and wood technology. The National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority is also a parastatal organisation which manages Mushandike Wildlife College, its only training college offering certificate and diploma qualifications in parks and wildlife man-agement. The Environmental Management Agency is a departmental organisation within the Ministry and does not run a training institution but draws its staff from gradu-ates from ZCF and universities offering environmental studies.

4.1.3 Timber Producers Federation (TPF) as PPDP

The Timber Producers Federation is an association funded by timber companies to coordinate common challenges affecting the plantation timber industry. The issues handled by TPF include developing timber industry policy, ensuring compliance with environmental guidelines, compiling timber industry statistics, coordinating fire man-agement, promoting timber trade and promoting specialized forestry research and training. TFP is thus an important link of the Public, Private Development Partnership (PPDP), ensuring that government policies are aligned to promote development of the timber industry.

It is a generally accepted fact that forests are valued most by the poor segments of society whose survival is highly dependent on them. In trying to address poverty re-duction challenges, it is imperative to recognize the link between the poor and their dependence on forests. PPDP is defined as a government service which is funded and operated through partnership with the private sector and NGOs (USAID, 2013). From the private sector perspective, links with the communities provide social and political legitimacy that can serve as a hedge against potential threats such as re-source destruction and invasion. From the government viewpoint, the private sector provides a critical source of employment and leverage with both financial and tech-nical resources that they lack.

Within the timber industry in Zimbabwe, there is high potential to strengthen PPDPs on forestry education and training. Opportunities exist from two institutions, namely NAMACO and TPF. NAMACO links up the forest sector directly with government while at the same time collaborating with TPF for the plantation forest sector. The TPF promotes and coordinates the plantation timber industry to fund students for training at ZCF/FITC. In this PPDP arrangement the industry benefits from getting graduates with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes; the college benefits from increased enrolment numbers and improved quality of training; and government enjoys the em-ployment opportunities created by the industry for ZCF/FITC graduates. It is this shared responsibility on training that should be supported strongly in order to sustain the provision of trained manpower and in turn, the development of the forest sector.

4.2 History of Forestry Education and Training

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Forestry education in Zimbabwe started at technical certificate level in 1946 at Mtao Forest near Mvuma. The programme was later elevated to technical diploma level when the training institution moved to Nyabara Forest in Penhalonga near Mutare soon after Zimbabwe’s independence in 1980. The college moved to its present site at the Christmas Pass, Mutare in 1983, whereupon it changed its name to Zimbabwe College of Forestry. The college currently offers two programmes; 1½ years Certificate in Forestry and a 2½ years Diploma in Forestry qualification that enable graduates to seek employment in a wide range of forestry disciplines. Graduates are expected to be employed in commercial forestry, social forestry, forest conservation, environ-mental forestry, research and training, amenity forestry, etc. Direct school leavers commence the programme with an initial 6 months forest field experience scheme, which enables them to familiarize with forestry practices, to gain practical experience in all key forestry activities and to develop the right work attitudes.

In line with its mission of “producing skilled, practical oriented personnel”, ZCF is well located in relation to the forestry industry, which complements the training by offering practical ground for experiential learning. In addition, ZCF has 100 hectares of training forest that has been established over 3 decades and a seedling production nursery. The college has plans to affiliate to Bindura University who are expected to monitor and regulate the quality of training and to provide an opportunity for diploma graduates to progress to undergraduate degree level.

The forestry industry expects ZCF to organize and run short in-service and refresher courses as demanded by stakeholders. During the period 1987-2000, the college had a dedicated further training unit that focused on organizing such courses but this unit has since been disbanded.

There was no degree level training until year 2000 and all professional foresters were trained outside the country mainly at Makerere University in Uganda, Morogoro Uni-versity in Tanzania and overseas in the British Commonwealth countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. To-date, forestry degree level is offered at 3 local universities namely Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE), the National University of Science and Technology (NUST) and Lupane State University, albeit with a heavy bias towards wildlife management for the latter two. Three other universities offer natural resources management programmes that include some forestry courses and these are Africa University, Midlands State University and University of Zimbabwe, which offers postgraduate degrees in Tropical Resources Management.

4.3 Wood processing training

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The Forestry Industries Training Centre (FITC) was established as a Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional training facility for primary wood processing training, with funding from the Italian Government and technical support from the FAO. The FITC is located adjacent to ZCF, which provides students with the opportunity to see the full cycle of training from establishment, management, harvesting, sawmilling and manufacturing to product marketing and sales. Three programmes are run on a semester basis: a one year Wood Technology Certificate programme; a two years Diploma in Wood Technology programme, which offers industrial attachment in the 2nd

year; and a four years Sawdoctoring Apprenticeship Programme, which is offered on a block release basis to allow the student optimum time under mentorship from a quali -fied sawdoctor. The apprenticeship programme provides for experienced employees with basic education to progress through four skills levels until they graduate at “Level One”, which is Journeyman status. The first crop of wood technologists graduated at FITC in 1989 and since then over 200 wood technology and sawdoctoring graduates have been trained. These courses are practical oriented and graduates find employ-ment in sawmilling, forest products manufacturing, value addition and saw mainten-ance industry. However, the decision by the Forestry Commission to lease out the FITC demonstration plant to its private commercial company, Allied Timbers Holdings resulted in over-utilisation, rapid wear and tear and eventual breakdown of most of the machinery. Currently it is almost impossible to refurbish the plant without major finan-cial capital outlay; hence, the request for capacity building funding by FITC manage-ment.

Apart from South Africa’s Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University and Stelenbosch University, Tanzania’s Forest Industries Training Institute (FITI) and Copperbelt Uni-versity in Zambia, there are no other known institutions offering technical training in primary wood processing in the region. At the time of its commission in 1989, FITC was considered as one of the world’s best training facility offering students in-situ in-dustrial exposure to sawmilling and wood panels production and marketing. FITC was thus well positioned to service the region in this regard. Despite the presence of these other wood technology training institutions, FITC still offers competitive skills level technical training.

There are no facilities to train professional degree level wood scientists in the country and the few currently working in the forest industry were trained abroad between 1988 and 1995.

4.4 Vocational Training

As already highlighted above, the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education has many institutions that offer vocational training in carpentry and joinery. The FITC runs courses on primary wood processing while the vocational training centres run car-pentry and joinery courses. There is therefore an opportunity for collaboration and creation of synergies between the two institutions in providing basic and refresher training of wood based MSMEs.

5. TNA STUDY FINDINGS

5.1 ZCF/FITC training

Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Forest Industry Training Centre are the main insti-tutions offering technical training in forest management and primary wood processing in Zimbabwe. Their training is highly regarded by the forest and forest industry sectors although there are areas that need improvement in order to fully meet expectations of the forest sector. Tertiary university training is partially being offered by mainly two institutions, Bindura University of Science Education and National University of Sci-ence and Technology. Most employers of these graduates expressed concern on the quality of foresters coming out of the institutions complaining that they lacked the ba-sic grounding in forest management principles.

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5.1.1 ZCF/FITC lecturers

There are 9 lecturers at ZCF/FITC and depending on courses they can be deployed to teach at either of the two institutions. Most of them have acquired professional quali -fications up to Bachelor’s and Master’s degree level and are aspiring to proceed to PhD level and to have a pedagogical qualification. The following table shows their qualifications, experience and what they considered to be their training needs.

Table 2: Outline of lecturers’ qualifications, experience and training needs

Hands-on practical skills of lec-turers: The table below shows the lec-turers’ views on the import-ance of lec-turer practical skills, interac-tions with the forest industry and continu-ous self im-provement in the training process. It is clear from the ratings that lecturers con-sider all these issues very important but they are doing very little par-ticularly with regard to strengthening their linkage

with the forest industry.

Table 3: Results of lecturers’ views on their work performance

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Lecturers Qualifications AnnualCredit HrsTaught

ExperienceWith FC

TrainingNeeds

Principal BSc Agric – Crop Science MSc Tropical Forestry – Social Forestry

½ 24 years Phd

Lecturer 1 Diploma in Forestry 9 8 years BSc ForestryLecturer 2 Diploma in Forestry

Part 2: BSc Development Studies10½ 5 years CBNM

Fire mgtLecturer 3 BSc (Hon) Forest Resources and Wild-

life Management9 7 years MSc

Lecturer 4 Diploma in Education Degree in Science and Education

6 5½ years GISEntomology

Lecturer 5 Diploma in Forestry B-Tech in Forestry

8 4 years Cableyarding

Lecturer 6 Master of Educational Administration, Planning and Policy Studies

B Education degree in Wood Techno-logy and Design

Diploma in Forest Products Technology Certificate in Education Master of Peace and Governance

9 19½ years Auto-CADPhd

Lecturer 7 Bachelor’s Degree in Wood Technology and Design

Post graduate in Forest Industries Tech-nology

Skilled Artisan Certificate (Class one) Certificate in Education

9½ 4½ Auto-CAD

Lecturer 8 M. Eng. Sci. in Waste Management B. Tech. Mechanical Engineering Occupational Health & Safety Certificate Diploma in Forest Industries

11 18 Phd

Lecturer 9 Certificate in Sawdoctoring Skilled Worker Class 1 Sawdoctoring BSc Environment & Geography

5½ 11 years Computer basedTeaching aids

B How well do you consider that you currently perform this activity? Ratings 1-7; 1=not well, 7= very well

A How important is this activity to the successful performance of your job? Ratings 1-7; 1=not well, 7= very well

Average ratingPractical skills of lecturers:

1. Using technical equipment including computers 7 52. Hands on practical demonstrations of work 7 53. Undertaking consultancy work in your field of specialisation 6 1

Linkages with the timber industry:1. Establishing a relationship with the forest industry 7 52. Industrial attachment for lecturers 6 23. Carrying out joint research with the forest industry 7 34. Carrying out training needs assessment for subject areas 6 35. Follow-up on graduates to check on their performance 7 36. Joint short course training with specialists in the industry 7 27. Keeping in touch with the forest industry 7 48. Identifying new courses for the forest industry 6 29. Identifying research topics for students 7 210. Running short courses for the forest industry 7 3

Self-development initiatives:1. Introducing new ideas at work 7 32. Showing fellow lecturers and students your new ideas 7 33. Organising your own time effectively 6 44. Carrying out regular research in your area of specialisation 7 45. Identifying research areas for lecturers 7 36. Improving your academic qualifications 7 27. Team work on training 7 58. Linking up with other training institutions 7 49. Writing and updating teaching notes for your courses 7 3

Adapted from: http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/He

Lecturers were observed to be generally reluctant to maintain strong links with the tim-ber industry through research, industrial attachment and running short courses in re-sponse to demands by the industry.

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5.1.2 Forestry and wood technology curriculum

ZCF/FITC adopted a semesterized academic calendar in line with the university sys-tem in the country and recommendations made in the FAO curricula review of 2010. The curriculum provides the fundamental courses and outlines for forestry and wood technology programmes but there are concerns on that the level of practical skills of students has gone down as illustrated by the following comment from one of the col-lege employers:

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“FITC demonstration plant machinery does not inspire confidence for the forest industry to send employees for further training due to its non- functionality and poor maintenance”.

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It was noted that the Certificate in Wood Technology and the Sawdoctoring pro-grammes were not being offered mainly due to low student enrolment levels.

5.1.3 ZCF/FITC training facilities

The FITC/ZCF still has good and well looked after buildings for training and confer-ence facilities. The Nyabara training forest is still well managed and provides good opportunity to demonstrate forest management, timber harvesting and sawmilling practices to students. However, lecturers raised concerns on lack of adequate facilities to conduct training. The FITC demonstration plant had no functional machinery apart from the plantation line which was to some very limited extent available for occasional use by students. Other facilities which were not in good condition included transport to take students and lecturers for practicals, forest measurement and fire management tools and equipment and library facilities which had mostly out-dated books and journ-als.

5.1.4 Linkages with other institutions

The ZCF/FITC has established linkages with universities such as NUST and BUSE for purposes of affiliation. In fact, some of the lecturers who used to teach at these col -leges have been recruited by these universities. Mutare Polytechnic College (MPC) is a state institution under the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education offering skills certificate courses in carpentry and joinery and an upgraded technical programme in the form of a wood technology degree. The college has a well-equipped and main-tained carpentry and joinery training workshop. However, the institution does not have facilities to offer training in the whole value chain from primary wood processing to value addition and marketing. Despite being located close to the commercial timber industry, MPC has not established any strong links with either ZCF/FITC or the formal forest industry sector. There are also challenges in recruiting and retaining lecturers to run the recently introduced B-Tech degree programme. ZCF/FITC and MPC have the potential to run a comprehensive vocational training programme that can cater for the needs of all stakeholders in the timber sector.

In principle, universities in Zimbabwe tend to focus on environmental management programmes. NUST focuses on training wildlife management practitioners. Bindura University of Science Education is the only tertiary institute that is producing degree level foresters in the country. The intake is small and the quality of its graduates is yet to be accepted by the industry. The curriculum is modelled along similar lines as that of ZCF primarily because of the faculty’s historical development, which saw the initial curriculum being compiled by ZCF lecturers some of whom later joined the university. While the forestry curriculum itself appears adequate, it is the manner in which it is implemented that creates deficiencies. For example, it was observed that of the 12 students recruited in 2013 and currently in their third year of training, only 3 had the requisite minimum entry qualifications for the programme. The whole group was never exposed to a commercial production forestry environment to observe or participate in basic operations such as planting, pruning, thinning, harvesting or sawmilling. The Timber Producers Federation, which is the voice of the forest sector expressed con-cern on employability of such graduates in forest enterprises. It is not surprising that although the number of graduate foresters is small, most of them find employment outside the forestry sector. However, plans by ZCF/FITC to affiliate to BUSE should provide opportunities for improvements in the quality of training at both institutions, especially if the former is turned into a college of the university.

5.2 Manicaland Plantation Timber Industry

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The three target groups for the training needs survey were forestry companies, indi -vidual employees within those companies and wood based MSMEs in Manicaland. The Timber Producers Federation provided a lot of useful information and statistics on training requirements within the plantation timber industry.

5.2.1 Training needs of Forestry Companies

The following main challenges facing corporate timber organisations were highlighted:

Shortage of raw materials fuelled by losses due to wild fires, baboon dam-age and illegal settlers

Frequent electricity power cuts Frequent machine breakdowns Lack of viable markets Business viability, which resulted in scaling down of operations, closure of

some companies and staff layoffs, creating a large pool of unemployed skilled and experienced people.

On the other hand, employees highlighted the following challenges affecting employ-ees within organisations:

Overloading of employees as employers cut down on staffing Compromise on quality standards to increase profit margins Tendency to do short cuts in operations, which often resulted in injuries Reluctance by companies to accept orders that involve challenging tasks,

which took a long time to prepare thereby increasing production costs Low employee morale due to unpredictable layoffs and high workloads.

Given the above challenges, it was obvious why companies had virtually stopped funding training at ZCF/FITC as this was primarily due to lack of funds. There was general reluctance to fund long courses in preference to short in-service courses, which yielded quick returns from training programmes. The message from the industry was that ZCF/FITC was not visible. They were not marketing what they can do on short courses. Degree level employees represent the investor at station or estate level and as such need policy and business related training; diploma holders in middle man-agement level require leadership development, labour management, planning and budget control; lower levels need operator training courses, customer care and basic supervision; and shop-floor worker level need a variety of specific training pro-grammes. TPF estimates the number of training units for each of the three employee levels at 25, 45, 70 and 3750 respectively. With regards to curricula improvements, the following courses were proposed for emphasis by ZCF/FITC through both long and short courses:

Forest Management - Microforest Application Program Timber Harvesting Value Chain Analysis Fire Management Refresher Courses Industrial Relations and Management of Discipline Computer based modelling Security and Risk Management Wood drying, quality control and grading

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The industry perceived lecturers as lacking practical and in-depth knowledge of courses required by the industry. For example, in running a course on product market-ing, one needs to know the production process, quality standards and key market niches to run the course effectively. The industry commended the quality of graduates from ZCF/FITC but condemned those from the local universities whom they criticised of lacking exposure and basic skills on forest management. Some companies still send their employees for further studies at degree level to South Africa and lamented that ZCF/FITC could have survived better by offering B-Tech degrees just like what Saasveld College (now Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) did. It was also high-lighted that it was important for the college to be able to move to the field to conduct training there rather than employees coming to ZCF/FITC for training in view of the financial challenges that the industry faced.

5.2.2 Training needs of MSMEs in plantation timber industry

The majority of MSMEs are informal and they appear to be fast taking over the formal timber market. They are involved in the wood value chain from processing through to the finished product where they supply a market that is not governed by the same rules of product quality control, traceability and taxation as the formal sector. This makes MSMEs products extremely competitive against those from the formal sector. There is increasing number of MSMEs who are participating in timber harvesting and primary wood processing using mobile sawmills to produce rough sawn timber and poles and accounting for nearly 20% of the industry’s sawnwood production. Inter-views with MSMEs in Manicaland showed that quite a wide range of products were produced and sold on the informal market; mouldings, doors, wardrobes, beds, kit -chen units, tables and chairs, lounge suites, etc. As with the formal sector, their major challenges included electricity power outages, frequent breakdown of machinery, lack of capital and limited viable markets.

The major training needs for this category of respondents was identified as:

Mobile sawmilling, optimisation of wood resource and waste management Use and maintenance of MSME machines Entrepreneurship Product design Quality control and Marketing.

Most of the respondents highlighted that while they valued and recognised the need for training to improve the production volumes, quality standards and general business viability, their businesses were mainly subsistence and did not generate sufficient funds to spend on training. They therefore relied on the Ministry of SMEs to organize funding for their training.

5.3 Training needs of Government and Municipalities

The target groups in this category were individual employees working in social forestry mainly under the Forestry Commission, EMA, NGOs and City Councils. Their main challenges were related to deforestation and how to motivate communities to plant trees; how to stop illegal cutting and movement of firewood into cities; livelihoods im-provements through sustainable management of forests in the form of non-wood forest products, beekeeping and honey production, commercialisation of indigenous fruits, etc; and enhancement of aesthetic values of cities through landscape improve-ments. The training gap highlighted by this group was wide and urgent attention to address it was needed through curricula review at training institutions and short courses. These are summarized as follows:

Woodland management and economic valuation

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GIS and Inventory Forest policy - law enforcement Beekeeping, honey production and marketing Nursery production – Budding and grafting techniques, biotechnology Landscape design, floriculture Dendrology of herbs, shrubs and flowers - relevant to park management

It should however be noted that while most of the above courses were covered in the curricula at ZCF/FITC, it was necessary to take a closer look at the syllabus and to ensure that the training instruction was indeed covering what was laid out in the course outline. The need for refresher courses was emphasized in view of the new emerging issues of people-centred forestry and the need to create multi-disciplinary teams at the work place.

5.4 Matebeleland Indigenous Hardwood Industry Training Needs

The range of stakeholders visited in Matebeleland was distributed widely from Bu-lawayo to Victoria Falls, a distance close to 450 km. They included timber harvesting concessionaires, sawmillers, furniture manufacturers, wood curio carvers, firewood merchants and carpentry and joinery MSMEs. As the centre of indigenous hardwood timber industry, Matebeleland had similar challenges to Manicaland, ranging from shrinkage of the timber resource base, shortage of electricity, constant machine breakdowns and lack of viable markets.

Firewood merchants were mainly based in urban areas where they were cashing in on communities who are increasingly suffering from electricity load shedding. Some of the large firewood merchants said business was booming and they were making aver-age sales of $8,000 per month. Their training requirements related to general busi-ness management.

Curio carving and trading was observed to be a big business comprising carvers and traders who are organized mostly through art and craft associations and cooperative societies. They are dominated by highly enterprising youths, school leavers and wo-men. The sizes and range of their products was wide; from small items like salt shakers and wooden bowels to life-size animal carvings. Their market was predomin-antly tourists plying the Bulawayo-Victoria Falls road, those touring the Victoria Falls and exports mainly to South Africa. A summary of the range of skills needed by this group include:

Machine use and carving techniques Entrepreneurship Internet based marketing Export documentation and formalities Communication skills and customer handling Language skills – including Chinese, French and German

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Small scale furniture manufacturers were mostly organized into associations and groups comprising 5 to 15 members who oper-ated at designated points. They sourced their timber from saw-mills, the main one of which is operated by the Forestry Commis-sion. Their products ranged from doors, beds, tables, chairs, wardrobes and kitchen units, most of which were sold on the in-formal market where the product range was the same and competition was stiff. The major training needs for this group were related to carpentry and joinery products design, use of equipment, marketing and general business skills. While the majority of these entrepreneurs acquired their skills on the job, a few had received basic training at government vocational colleges.

Large scale furniture manufacturers were involved throughout the value chain from acquisition of concessions to timber harvesting, sawmilling, manufacturing and product marketing. Their challenges were shortage of the timber resource base which forced them to move further into the forests thereby increasing log transport costs to the sawmill. The skills needed included maximisation of log recovery in sawmilling and sawdoctoring. Issues of product design and marketing were handled by the company owner who considered such information as highly confidential. This category of re-spondents did not perceive training as critical at this time when the industry was ex-periencing serious viability challenges as they felt that employees would run away soon after receiving the training.

6. ANALYSIS OF TNA RESULTS

6.1 Gaps in ZCF/FITC curriculum implementation

ZCF/FITC prides itself with the production of high quality technical graduates with hands-on practical skills in forestry and wood technology. To ensure that this vision is achieved, the colleges set out 4 operational goals aimed at:

Offering diploma and certificate programmes for the forest sector; Running short in-service courses; Availing their facilities to the public to optimize their utilisation; and Providing consultancy and expertise in forestry, wood technology and saw-

doctoring.

The question to ask is “To what extent is the institution meeting these key goals which should dictate their day to day operations?” The proceeding analysis should provide some answers to what is required in order for ZCF/FITC to realise their vision of pro-ducing world-class graduates.

6.1.1 Assessment of training facilities

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The Finish-funded SADC AAA 5.9 Project of the 1990s set up a number of income generation activities at ZCF, which resulted in significant financial inflows at the time. The main facilities that were improved included refurbishment of training rooms and chalets to facilitate and accommodate running of short courses. These facilities are still in good condition although there appears to be poor pricing of the services. The students’ halls of residence are still in reasonably good condition. The other facility that was developed was the computer laboratory, which has 8 desktop computers for use by students. There are 8 additional desktop computers for lecturers but internet connectivity is slow and all the computers are almost rendered obsolete due to tech-nological developments. Vehicles for field trips were purchased but again these have lived beyond their economic life. Most of the fire fighting tools, equipment and chain-saws are still available but are no longer functional due to age and poor maintenance. With regards to financial management, it is imperative that when revenue is generated some of it must be ploughed back into improvement of the facilities that are used to generate that income. It was worrying to note that while the college still generated some revenue, simple chairs for the classrooms were in a deplorable state.

The FITC facilities were developed some 26 years ago under the SADC Project 6.0.8 funded by the Government of Italy with technical support from FAO. The objective was to provide hands-on practical training on mechanical wood processing to students under a production environment, which gave the institution an opportunity to generate revenue through sale of products. When the plant was operational it had four produc-tion lines; a plantation sawmill line, tropical hardwood sawmill line, slicer line and peeler line, all of which produced high quality products for export markets. There was also a value addition line and a fully equipped sawdoctoring shop that provided high quality saw maintenance services to the local timber industry. FITC was a unique model training facility that was run on business lines generating significant income from sale of products such as sawn timber, veneer, plywood, doors and other value added products to sustain the training. However, a strategic decision by the college and its parent organisation, Forestry Commission to lease the plant to the Government private company Allied Timbers Zimbabwe led to overutilization and poor maintenance of machines to the extent that the plant is inexplicably in a dysfunctional state. This has forced the college to review and scale down the practical component of wood technology and sawdoctoring curricula, much to the disappointment of the institution’s stakeholders. It is currently not possible to restore the demonstration plant to its ori -ginal state without some huge financial capital outlay, which will definitely run into mil-lions of United States dollars. The situation is exacerbated by lack of transport for staff and students to undertake field trips and practical work in the nearby commercial tim-ber industry.

On the other hand, the classrooms, student halls of residence, and canteen facilities at ZCF/FITC are still in reasonable condition for use but suffer poor capacity utilisation in the light of dwindling enrolment numbers. However, utilisation of college training facil-ities has improved significantly due to high occupancy rate by people who come for conferences. As intimated above, the high occupancy rate is triggered by the relatively low fee level which is not regularly reviewed.

6.1.2 Assessment of lecturer competences

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The basic requirement of any trainer or lecturer is that he/she must have two qualifica-tions, professional and pedagogical certifications. The profile of lecturer qualifications and experience show that some lecturers are expected to teach courses that they have no expertise in and that lecturers holding diploma qualifications are expected to teach at diploma level. Although pedagogical training is essential in enhancing the training delivery process, it cannot substitute professional training. Relevant profes-sional qualifications of lecturers will be even more important in the near future as the college intends to affiliate to a university. The hands-on practical skills level of lectur-ers is critical in performing demonstrations and imparting the same skills to students. A trainer who lacks the professional skills is also likely to lose confidence to demon-strate the skill during training and consequently trainees will not acquire the desired competences. Apart from lack of time to run short courses, lack of confidence in pro-fessional skills might explain why lecturers were not actively running short courses.An analysis of the responses given by lecturers on their views on the importance of tasks related to linkages with the forest industry showed high ratings on A and low ratings on B (Table 4.2). This entails that they considered the tasks to be very import -ant but were not doing so, which indicates a high demand and priority for training on those tasks. Effectively this means that lecturers recognized the importance of work-ing closely with the timber industry especially in running short courses, carrying out joint research and acquiring practical skills through industrial attachment but appeared to have constraints in doing so. Given the limited competences of most lecturers at ZCF/FITC, training in this regard is urgently required if the quality of forestry education and training is to be raised to the level expected by stakeholders.

6.1.3 Assessment of ZCF/FITC curriculum

The adoption of a semesterized academic calendar was expected to bring in certain advantages in the training. Apart from alignment of ZCF/FITC training to that of the universities, it was expected that the system should provide greater flexibility in learn-ing for students and avail more time for lecturers to do research and run short courses for the forest sector. It was observed that some of the nine lecturers at the two institu -tions were teaching too many courses that they hardly had time for other professional development activities. On average each lecturer was teaching 3 credit courses per semester. Although there was provision for guest lecturers, these were not readily forthcoming due to poor remuneration. Students were also not free to select courses of interest and to enter and exit the training as they wished. ZCF/FITC have therefore not fully implemented the credit based qualification system which facilitates accredita-tion not just to local universities, but also to the regional and international qualifications systems such as South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). A regionally accredited qualification has the obvious advantage of increasing employment opportunities to ZCF/FITC graduates in this growing globally competitive village.

An analysis of the course outlines showed that while the courses on offer provided a good standard package of forestry and wood technology knowledge and skills re-quired of graduates, it lacked some current topical issues emerging in the forest sec-tor. For example, issues of REDD+, climate change, biotechnology, forest law compli -ance and governance (FLEGT), etc. were lacking in the forestry curriculum and issues of bio-energy, entrepreneurship, innovative technologies in wood processing and dry-ing were lacking in the wood technology curriculum. Furthermore, a closer look at the content/syllabi of some of the courses indicated lack of inclusion of modern technolo-gies. For example, traditional methods of tree seedling production were taught at the expense of modern speedling systems of plantar flats, float beds, use of soilless me-dia such as vermiculite, cocoa-peat and pine bark, rendering almost the whole course irrelevant.

6.2 Analysis of training needs of plantation timber industry

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The training needs highlighted by the plantation timber industry could be addressed through short courses rather than through a review of the ZCF/FITC curriculum. Forest management, Timber harvesting, Fire management and Wood drying are already covered in the diploma curricula. Topics such as Microforest application, Value chain analysis and Risk management are high level courses that could be run as short courses targeting middle and senior management within the timber industry. There was also a high demand for training of machine operators such as skidders, tele-log-gers and chainsaws. Although ZCF/FITC indicated their commitment to running in-service and short courses, in practice very little was being done. Emphasis was largely placed on offering the college facilities to the public at the expense of servicing the forest sector. Considering the limited skill level at the college, it may not be prac-tically feasible for lecturers to run such courses.

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6.3 Analysis of training needs of MSMEs in Manicaland

There has been a rapid increase in the number of MSMEs in contract sawmilling on a 50/50 share ratio with the plantation owners. In view of the shrinking wood resource base triggered principally by losses due to forest fires and over-harvesting, mobile sawmilling should feature more strongly in the forestry and wood technology curricula. Deliberate focus would need to be placed on machine operation, wood optimisation, health and safety and waste management. Heaps of sawdust, slabs and off-cuts are a common feature on mobile sawmilling sites, pausing serious risk of fires and further destruction of the forests.

The second category of MSMEs comprises those involved in value addition, producing doors, mouldings and a wide range of furniture products. Most of these entrepreneurs use basic tools and machinery and have received limited on-the-job training in car-pentry and joinery. Short courses on use of machinery, product design, quality control and basic entrepreneurship would help to improve their businesses. The majority of MSMEs operating informally are registered with associations or societies that repres-ent their interests and these can provide a good platform to facilitate training.

6.4 Analysis of training needs in Matebeleland

Matebeleland is the cradle of the indigenous hardwood timber industry. Although the Forestry Commission controls timber exploitation by awarding timber concessions and enforcing the ban on exploitation of unprocessed and semi-processed wood products, the exploitable timber resources are fast dwindling primarily due to failure to determine the annual allowable cut and to monitor past exploitations. Most of the graduates from ZCF/FITC felt that the curriculum did not adequately prepare them for the work in Matebeleland. The management of teak woodlands including the calculation of annual allowable cut, their harvesting and sawmilling techniques and the range of machinery used were inadequately covered in the curriculum.

Most of the furniture and curio products coming out of the teak forests of Matebeleland find their way onto the international market. The training requirements for graduates and entrepreneurs in Matebeleland go beyond the general principles of marketing. To complement entrepreneurship training, the areas of focus should thus include internet based marketing, export documentation and formalities, effective communication and language skills. These are courses that excite the young generation and any short courses that could be organized in this regard will certainly attract their participation and in the long run enhance their incomes and improve livelihoods.

7. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

7.1 Keep the training curricula in sync with forest sector changes

Curricula reviews at training institutions are meant to capture relevant developments in the sector. The ZCF/FITC adopted a good practice of reviewing their curriculum every 5 years, with the last review having been done in 2010. This training needs assess-ment will therefore provide a good break point and basis for the review process. It should also remind the college management of the need to complete the process of affiliation with the university, which has been on the discussion table for over two dec-ades. There is no doubt that affiliation would enhance the credibility of the ZCF/FITC qualifications and facilitate progression of diploma graduates onto degree programme at reduced time period in recognition of the acquired credit courses.

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ZFC/FITC tends to produce a general forester who has no specialisation to work in other areas than commercial forestry. A deliberate flavour of people-centred participat-ory forestry where the forester is more of a facilitator of development rather than the traditional “conservator” or “forest guard” concept is imperative in the forestry curricula (Temu, 2002). There is a need to run more specialized courses on community forestry, urban forestry, out-grower schemes, woodland management, apiculture, biodiversity conservation, REDD+, climate change and entrepreneurship. Some of these courses could be incorporated into the formal curriculum or they could be offered as short courses. The FITC wood technology curriculum should also embrace emerging issues of contract sawmilling and value addition, which are critical for the MSMEs. ZCF/FITC should review their curriculum to accommodate the wide profile of job opportunities for their graduates and the growing training needs of MSMEs most of whom are inexperienced, unskilled and untrained. A new skills training programme for MSMEs should be introduced along similar lines as the current sawdoctoring pro-gramme. This could be implemented on a block release arrangement as students are allowed to acquire practical skills relevant for each level up to journeyman level.

ZCF/FITC should also recognize courses attended through short courses as long as the course evaluation system is in line with that used on the formal programme. The flexibility is already built into the semesterized curriculum, which should allow students to accumulate credits at their own pace and to enter and exit the training at any time. Failure by ZCF/FITC to embrace these changes will exacerbate the challenges that they are currently experiencing of declining funding, reduced employment opportunit-ies for the graduates and ultimately declining enrolment levels.

7.2 Improve competence of lecturers

It is often said that quality comes at a price and the trainer is the nerve centre of the training and development programme. For ZCF/FITC to address its viability chal-lenges, staff development is the key. It may not be essential that all lecturers acquire PhD level qualifications to teach diploma students but it is important to ensure that all lecturers attain at least a BSc degree and specialisation at MSc level. It is important to build a versatile team of lecturers whose competences are not doubted by its stake-holders. The massive layoff of staff in response to the shrinking formal forest industry has resulted in a large pool of unemployed but highly skilled and experienced forest -ers and wood technologists who could play a critical role in facilitating implementation of ZCF/FITC’s staff development plans. These people could be employed on fixed term basis or as guest lecturers to complement the lecturers in running both the formal courses and short courses demanded by the industry.

Lecturers should also be encouraged to strongly link “hand and glove” with the timber industry, running short courses and carrying out joint research with counterparts in the industry, to sharpen their practical skills, boost their confidence and to keep abreast with technological developments in the forest sector. Unless they assume other re-sponsibilities, the teaching load should be spread evenly across all lecturers to create time for research and to run short courses especially during the semester breaks. In this regards every lecturer could be tasked to organize and run at least two courses annually in his/her area of specialisation and getting an incentive honorarium propor-tionate to the amount collected by the college for the service.

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To improve the training delivery process, it has already been indicated that a pedago-gical qualification is essential for a trainer. A staff development programme designed to improve teaching skills and methodologies can be easily organized to address this gap by collaborating with the local Mutare Teachers College (MTC) who should pre-pare a tailor-made course for those lecturers who do not have teaching qualifications. One or two lecturers could be released from MTC to go and offer the course at ZCF/FITC for a small fee, after which certification can be awarded upon successful comple-tion. In addition, it is recommended that exchange programmes be organized to pro-mote sharing of experiences and skills among the teaching staff in the region and de-veloped partner countries.

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7.3 Rehabilitate training facilities for effective education and training

The major facilities that require attention with regard to the ZCF/FITC realizing its insti-tutional vision include the FITC demonstration plant, the sawdoctoring shop, vehicles and ICT facilities. While it is not practically feasible to resuscitate the FITC demon-stration plant in its original form, it is possible to develop with limited capital outlay a set-up that will facilitate the acquisition of relevant skills by students.

The FITC demonstration plant was originally designed for large scale primary wood processing. In view of the shift to mobile sawmilling and small scale carpentry and joinery enterprises, it is prudent to re-configure training at FITC to cater for this devel-opment. This would entail procurement of relevant tools and spare parts for the Kara mobile sawmill unit that is currently used by students at the ZCF/FITC’s Nyabara train-ing forest to ensure its continued operation. The writer advocates also procuring a wood mizer sawmill that could be set up to replace the plantation sawmill line at FITC. Such a sawmill is more cost effective and would serve as an efficient demonstration plant to provide practical skills on primary wood processing to students. To meet the large demand for training of MSMEs, it is recommended that a furniture and joinery line equipped with appropriate simple tools and machinery similar to what is currently used in the MSMEs sector should be set up at the FITC demonstration plant. A new demonstration facility of this kind is preferred compared to the old set up for the follow-ing reasons:

Sawn timber from the proposed sawmilling line can be used as raw materials for the wood working line.

Transportation of sawnwood is more cost effective if needed in larg quantities for furniture production.

ZCF/FITC has the opportunity to demonstrate an extended value chain from forestry to furniture manufacturing.

The finished products can be sold at much higher value thus generating the much needed revenue for the college.

To this end, advice from an experienced professional wood workshop layout engineer is urgently needed to ensure that accurate budgetary allocations are captured prior to the commencement of the project. Opportunities exist for collaboration with Mutare Polytechnic College on identification of the range of tools, equipment and layout, course design and team teaching. While it is acknowledged that MPC has already a fully functional carpentry and joinery workshop, its use by outsiders might be stifled by government bureaucracy, hence the recommendation to establish the facility at ZCF/FITC.

ZCF/FITC is located in close proximity of the timber industry and the opportunity to enhance student skills through field trips and industrial attachments should be con-sidered and this is only possible if there is improved mobility of lecturers. The pur-chase of a few key vehicles to facilitate movement of both students and staff for prac -ticals should also receive consideration in the implementation of the project. Dendro-logy for example, is increasingly becoming important in arboriculture, biodiversity con-servation and ecotourism and there is a critical shortage of specialists capable of identifying shrubs and tree species. Students would need to be taken to such places as La Rochelle Botanical gardens, Vumba National Park and Chirinda Forest where most species are labelled to facilitate easy identification. Programmed field trips to Matebeleland are also necessary to expose both students and staff to forestry and wood processing in commercial indigenous woodlands.

The ZCF/FITC as a regional training facility needs to catch up with technological de-velopments in the ICT world and to reduce the digital divide with other institutions. A high speed fibre-optic line passes close to the college and it would be invaluable to both staff and students if it can be tapped to facilitate internet connectivity and access to current and relevant information.

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7.4 Scale up short courses to raise ZCF/FITC training profile

The industry’s sentiments that they are not aware of what ZCF/FITC is capable to offer is an indirect distress call for the college to wake up and do something. As already indicated above, running short in-service courses for the industry can make a differ-ence in reviving the glory of ZCF/FITC among its stakeholders. From Manicaland to Matebeleland, the forest sector highlighted the need for ZCF/FITC to vigorously mar-ket its services, not through the media but through action and that action entails or-ganizing short courses. To facilitate running of short courses, it is recommended that a mobile training unit vehicle be procured and equipped to provide in-field training to mobile sawmillers, sawdoctors and foresters. Short courses relating to internet based marketing and export documentation demanded by MSMEs in Matebeleland should be easy to organize and run at a strategic venue in the region. Initially the college can utilize the many skilled wood technologists, sawdoctors and foresters who are cur-rently unemployed to run short courses and restore confidence in the sector while at the same time providing opportunities for an income to them. Alternatively, the college can hire the services of a renowned experienced international trainer who runs the course with the lecturer as understudy, which gives credit to the college. This has been a common practice by companies in the timber industry who have hired some specialists from neighbouring South Africa to run courses on baboon damage control, forest fire and pest management and chemical weed control.

Furthermore, there are a number of equipment suppliers and service providers for the commercial timber industry who could be utilised to provide the required training at very minimal cost. For example, ZCF/FITC could partner with chainsaw, skidder and mobile sawmill dealers or agents to organize and jointly run basic operation and re-fresher courses for the industry, leading to a win-win situation for all the three parties. It is estimated that there are over 30 mobile sawmills operating in plantation forests of Manicaland alone, which demonstrates that there is big business for the equipment suppliers and as such should find it profitable to participate in running courses for op-erators of their machines.

7.5 Organize innovative financing for students training

The availability of funding for students is critical to sustainability of training at ZCF/FITC. It is time for the college management to explore new innovative funding options to ensure its continued survival. FAO provided funding for students training at the time when FITC was designated as a regional training centre for wood technology. When the FAO funding was stopped, student enrolment dropped. ZCF was not a regional institution but aggressively marketed its services to the extent that it secured at least 30% of its annual intake from international students. ZCF/FITC should intensively mar-ket the college beyond Zimbabwe once the issues of curriculum, lecturer competence and facilities are addressed. On the local market it is important for the college to reach out to all its wide spectrum of potential employers, including tobacco industry, municip-alities, RDCs, NGOs and MSMEs.

Employers are eligible to claim rebate if they provide trade testing facilities, release their employees for part-time lecturing at MHTE institutions or incur expenses on em-ployees who successfully complete courses approved by the Higher Education Exam-ination Council (HEXCO). ZCF/FITC and NAMACO, a government institution that pro-motes PPDPs, should work together to ensure that the college’s training programmes comply with the requirements of MHTE. The introduction of training in furniture pro-duction and carpentry and joinery for MSMEs at ZCF/FITC should therefore provide an incentive for the college to be recognized as a skills training centre that deserves support from ZIMDEF. Carpentry is already recognized as a designated trade and what would be required is for ZFC/FITC to have its training programme approved by HEXCO.

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Studies in Zimbabwe have suggested that entrepreneurs in the MSME sector attach low priority to training and are often unwilling to participate in programmes that require them to finance even a small proportion of total training cost. However, there is an opportunity to tap into training funds provided under the Ministry of SMEs. In view of the fact that quite a number of informal MSMEs are represented by associations, it should be possible to secure such funding especially when targeting youths, women and rural based groups.

7.6 Rebranding ZCF/FITC for effective institutional marketing

ZFC and FITC are managed by the Forestry Commission under the Research and Training Division. The merger of the two colleges was done more than 25 years ago but the two institutions continue to retain their original names, giving the impression that they are run separately. This tends to confuse potential stakeholders and does not provide effective marketing of the institution. Re-branding is therefore necessary; it is recommended that a single name such as Zimbabwe College of Forestry and Wood Technology be adopted, with two campuses namely, a forestry campus and a wood technology campus.

7.7 Conclusions

Zimbabwe has experienced some challenging macro-economic changes that have seen the forest sector market place being driven by the small business enterprises. This is not unique to Zimbabwe as the most developed economies of the world have gone through a similar route. The key to the development and revitalisation of the forest sector in Zimbabwe lies in how forestry education and training responds to these changes. ZCF/FITC as the main training institution for forestry and wood tech-nology has experienced declining quality in curricula implementation and shrinking markets for its students. In recent years graduates from the institution have not per-formed to the expectations of employers primarily due to inadequate hands-on skills. There has also been a serious drop in the number of short courses run by the college to re-sharpen the skills of employees in the forest sector. The emergence of MSMEs in the wood industry has created new training opportunities for ZCF/FITC, which should see increased enrolments and interaction with the industry. Capacity building is therefore necessary if the college is to play its training role to stimulate the develop-ment of the forest sector in the country.

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8. REFERENCES

Brown J. (2009). Training Needs Assessment. A Must for Developing and Effective Training Program.

Chirisa I. (2009). The Geography of informal sector operations (ISOs): A perspective of urban Zimbabwe. Journal of Geography and Regional Planning. Vol 2 (4), pp 66-79.

FAO (2005). Forestry Education in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia: Trends, myths and realities. FAO, Rome.

FAO (2002). Forest Outlook Study for Africa. Southern Africa Sub-regional Report. African Wildlife Commission, June 2002. FAO, Rome.

GoZ (2015). Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation (ZIM ASSET). Prioritized Annual Plan: 2015. “Towards an empowered society and a growing eco-nomy”. Government of Zimbabwe.

ILO (2014). Definition of green jobs used in the employment and environment policy context. ILO.

Mubaiwa, L. (2004). The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Forestry – can it stop the mounting threats to the region’s forests? Catalyzing Regional Action, Unasylva 218, Vol. 55, 2004.

Nhira C. (1998). Land-use planning and woodland management: A case study of local control and regulatory capacity on household and communal woodland resources in Zimbabwe. IES Working Paper 8, Harare, Zimbabwe.

Routsalainen T. 2015). Revitalization of forest training centres in the SADC region for green employment – Phase 1. Feasibility study options to develop, restructure and/or reorganize the existing forest training institutions in Zimbabwe and Zambia. FAO, Rome.

Schmidt S. (2015). USAID’s Biodiversity Conservation and Forestry Programs, YF 2007. USAID Natural Resources Management and Development Portal. Accessed: http://www.rm-portal.net/library/contents/usaid 2019s - biodiv (retrieved August, 13, 2015).

The Herald Business Thursday 8 October 2015. Establish SME Export Development and Pro-motion Agency. Harare, Zimbabwe.

Temu A. (2002). Trends in forestry education in Southeast Asia and Africa. 1993-2002: Prelim-inary results of two surveys.

USAID (2013). USAID forest Program. Public private partnerships in forestry. USAID.

WHO. Hennessy – Hicks Training Needs Analysis Questionnaire and Manual. University of Birmingham, UK. Accessed: http://www.who.int/workforcealliance/knowledge/He

Woodwork (2015). What is a green job? Accessed: http://www.woodwork.ca

Yuha Kiuru (2015). Situation Analysis on “Strengthening Forestry Training Centres and Wood Industries for Green Employment in the SADC Region Project”. FAO, Rome

ZCF & FITC (2010). Curriculum Document 2010 – 20 Charting New Directions for Technical Forestry and Wood Technology Training in Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe College of Forestry & Forest Industries Training Centre, Mutare, Zimbabwe.

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Annex 1. Survey questionnaire to identify training needs in the forest sector in Zimbabwe

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO IDENTIFY AND ASSESS THE CURRENT TRAINING NEEDS OF FORESTRY AND FOREST INDUSTRY SECTORS IN ZIMBABWE

A. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ZCF/FITC FACULTY STAFF

INTRODUCTION

This questionnaire is aimed at identifying key challenges and training needs for the faculty staff of ZCF/FITC. It shall be completed by lecturers at the two institutions. This questionnaire will take ap-proximately 20 minutes to complete and we thank you for your time. By responding to this question-naire, you are contributing towards competence and skills development for the forest sector in Zimb-abwe.

PART 1: RESPONDENT INFORMATION

1. Name of Respondent: ________________________________________2. Job Title: ________________________________________3. Gender: Male: _____ Female: ____4. Years in the post: ________________________________________5. Level of training:

PhD MSc 1st Degree Diploma Certificate

6. Specialisation area: ________________________________________

PART 2: GENERAL TRAINING NEEDS

Instructions:

Please answer all questions as honestly as possible to enable accurate assessment of your training requirements. Rating A is concerned with how important the activity is to the successful performance of your job. Rating B is concerned with how well you currently perform that activity.

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B How well do you consider that you currently perform this activity? Ratings 1-7; 1=not well, 7= very well

A How important is this activity to the successful performance of your job? Ratings 1-7; 1=not well, 7= very well

Average rating1. Establishing a relationship with the forest industry2. Introducing new ideas at work3. Showing fellow lecturers and students your new ideas4. Organising your own time effectively5. Using technical equipment including computers6. Carrying out regular research in your area of specialisation7. Industrial attachment for lecturers8. Hands on practical demonstrations of work9. Carrying out joint research with the forest industry10. Writing and updating teaching notes for your courses11. Carrying out training needs assessment for subject areas12. Follow-up on graduates to check on their performance13. Joint short course training with specialists in the industry14. Undertaking consultancy work in your field of specialisation15. Identifying research areas for lecturers16. Critically evaluating your work17. Improving your academic qualifications18. Team work on training19. Keeping in touch with the forest industry20. Identifying new courses for the forest industry21. Identifying research topics for students22. Running short courses for the forest industry23. Linking up with other training institutions

PART 3: SPECIFIC TRAINING NEEDS

Please specify the areas of your job in which you would like to receive further training. List them in order of priority or importance to you.

1. ________________________________________________________________________2. ________________________________________________________________________3. ________________________________________________________________________4. ________________________________________________________________________5. ________________________________________________________________________

PART 4: WORK ENVIRONMENT

a) In order for you to perform well at work, a conducive work environment is imperative. List some factors which immensely prevail but would need to be changed in order to improve the work situation.

1. _______________________________________________________________________2. _______________________________________________________________________3. _______________________________________________________________________4. _______________________________________________________________________5. _______________________________________________________________________

b) What other key challenges is ZCF/FITC facing that if addressed would enhance and sustain training?

1. ______________________________________________________________________2. ______________________________________________________________________3. ______________________________________________________________________4. ______________________________________________________________________5. ______________________________________________________________________

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B. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR ORGANISATIONS

INTRODUCTION

This questionnaire is directed to Forestry Companies, Associations and Cooperatives. It shall be com-pleted by Employers, Human Resources Personnel and Departmental line managers including Re-gional Managers and Estate Managers. The questionnaire will take about 45 minutes to complete and we thank you for your time. By responding to this questionnaire, you are contributing towards compet-ence and skills development for the forest sector in Zimbabwe.

PART 1: RESPONDENT INFORMATION

1. Company name: __________________________________________2. Name of respondent: __________________________________________3. Designation: __________________________________________4. Contact Phone: __________________ Email: _________________5. Address: __________________________________________

PART 2: ENTERPRISE INFORMATION

1. Indicate number of your employees by gender in the following work categories.

Forestry Timber Har-vesting

Sawmilling Sawdoctor-ing

Manufactur-ing

Sales & Mar-keting

Planning Dept.

M F M F M F M F M F M F M FProfessional Degree LevelProfessional Diploma LevelProfessional Certificate Level (1-2yrs)Basic Voca-tional Train-ing level (˂1yr)Short Inser-vice Training level(1-6 wks)

2. Please indicate how many vacant positions you anticipate in the next 4 years for each work category.

Forestry Timber Harvesting

Sawmilling Sawdoc-toring

Manufac-turing

Sales & Marketing

Planning Dept.

Professional Degree Level

Professional Dip-loma Level

Professional Certi-ficate Level (1-2yrs)

Basic Vocational Training level (˂1yr)Short Inservice Training Level

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3. What is your opinion about the following statements concerning your machines, technology and opera-tional competencies/skills? Please indicate the level of your Agreement or Disagreement. (1 = com-pletely disagree, 2 = disagreement, 3 = uncertain, 4 = agree and 5 = fully agree.)

Machines, technology and operational competencies. 1 2 3 4 5Our machines/equipment are in good working orderOur machines/ equipment are well maintainedOperators know how to use machines wellOperators need basic refresher trainWe train machine operators to match technological developmentsWe get value for our money when we train our employeesWe do not train regularly for fear that our employees will leave our organ-isation for greener pastures

PART 3: TRAINING INFORMATION

1. What problems or challenges are you experiencing as a result of inadequate skills, knowledge and competence for your staff?1. ________________________________________________________2. ________________________________________________________3. ________________________________________________________4. ________________________________________________________5. ________________________________________________________

2. What refresher or in-service training courses have you given to your employees over the past 2 years for each category? (Complete each box where necessary)

Forestry Timber Harvesting

Sawmilling Sawdoctor-ing

Manufac-turing

Sales & Marketing

Planning Dept.

Professional Degree Level

Professional Diploma Level

Professional Certificate Level(1-2yrs)

Basic Voca-tional Train-ing level (˂1yr)

Short Inser-vice Training level

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3. Write down priority training courses that would make a difference to your company’s business for each category.

Forestry Timber Harvesting

Sawmilling Sawdoctoring Manufac-turing

Sales & Marketing

Planning Dept.

Professional De-gree Level

Professional Dip-loma Level

Professional Certi-ficate Level (1-2yrs)

Basic Vocational Training level (˂1yr)

Short Inservice Training level

4. Would you consider ZCF/FITC to run short in-service training courses for your organisation? If yes/no, Give reasons.

i. ____________________________________________________________________ii. ____________________________________________________________________

iii. ____________________________________________________________________iv. ____________________________________________________________________v. ____________________________________________________________________

5. Which institution do you think would offer quality training to your staff in each category?

Forestry Timber Harvesting

Sawmilling Sawdoc-toring

Manufac-turing

Sales & Marketing

Planning Dept.

Professional Degree Level

Professional Diploma Level

Professional Certific-ate Level (1-2yrs)

Basic Vocational Training level (˂1yr)

Short Inservice Train-ing level

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6. How does each of the following factors limit production operations in your company both quantity and quality? Please indicate the level of your Agreement or Disagreement. (1 = com-pletely disagree, 2 = disagreement, 3 = uncertain, 4 = agree and 5 = fully agree.)

Limiting factors in production 1 2 3 4 5Insufficient raw material availabilityLimited technical manpowerFrequent machine breakdownsLack of preventative maintenanceAged tools, equipment and machineryIncorrect/ improper use of tools, equipment and machineryInsufficient skilled labourLack of basic training

7. Do ZICF/FITC graduates meet your expected quality standards? Yes: No: If No, what curricular improvements would you recommend?

i. _________________________________________________________________ii. _________________________________________________________________

iii. _________________________________________________________________iv. _________________________________________________________________v. _________________________________________________________________

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C. QUESTIONNAIRE FOR INDIVIDUALS

INTRODUCTION

This questionnaire shall be completed by Individual employees, Machine operators, Carpentry and Joinery personnel and Small enterprise owners. The questionnaire will take about 15 minutes to com-plete and we thank you for your time. By responding to this questionnaire, you are contributing to-wards competence and skills development for the forest sector in Zimbabwe.

PART 1: RESPONDENT INFORMATION

1. Name of respondent: __________________________________________2. Designation: __________________________________________3. Contact Phone __________________ Email: ________________4. Address: __________________________________________5. Age: _____ Gender: Male ___ Female ___6. Type of business: ______________________________________________7. Are you an Employee or member of an Association/Society? Yes: _ No:__

If Yes, identify the Association/ Company: _________________________________

PART 2: PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

1. What type of business are you involved in? (Select from the categories below)

Forestry Sawmilling Manufacturing Carpentry & Joinery

Sawdoctoring Sales Other (specify)

2. What products or services do you provide and in what quantities and value per month?

Product Quantity/ month Value ($)1.

2.

3.

4.

3. What tools, equipment and machinery do you use in your business and who maintains them?

Tools, Equipment & Machinery Maintenance by whom (self or contractor)1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

4. What challenges do you face in your business operations in relation to the following items?

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Item Challenges1. Raw materials

2. Production process

3. Machinery

4. Worker Skills

5. Finishing work

6. Business Manage-ment

7. Product Marketing

PART 3: TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

1. Have you received any basic training related to your work? Yes:__ No:__.If Yes, specify ____________________________________________Indicate where trained ____________________________________________For how long? ____________________________________________

2. What is your opinion about the following statements concerning your operational competen-cies/skills? Please indicate the level of your Agreement or Disagreement. (1 = completely disagree, 2 = disagreement, 3 = uncertain, 4 = agree and 5 = fully agree.)

Training Needs 1 2 3 4 5I have the required basic technical skills for my workI need additional training on use of tools and machinery for my workI have sufficient skills to run my own businessI can maintain my machinery satisfactorily without helpAnnual refresher training is important in my workI am open to job training to enhance my performance

3. What 3 priority courses would you like to attend in order to improve your performance on the job?

1. __________________________________________________________________2. __________________________________________________________________3. __________________________________________________________________

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Annex 2: Estimate of Resources and Implementation Schedule

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Major task Activity Resources Est. Cost Timeline Responsibility Comments

Rebrand ZCF/FITC

Develop full list of stakeholders

Secretarial services, stationery

$0 June 2016 Principal Stakeholder list critical prior to circulation of TNA report

Circulate TNA report

Secretarial services, stationery

$0 June 2016 DGM R & T (FC)

Circulation to cover all range of stakeholders

Review ZCF/FITC strategic plan

Conference facilities, facilitator

$5 000 July 2016 Principal Joint review with stakeholders

Launch the new ZCF/FITC name

Conference facilities, media publicity

$5 000 Sep 2016 GM (FC) Launch on Graduation Day

Conduct student market research & recruitment

Funding, Publicity materials, Travel

$40 000 Jan-June 2017

Principal Local and regional student recruitment drive needed

Sub-total $50 000

Curricula review

Hold CD workshop & review existing programmes

Conference facilities, workshop facilitator,Funding

$10 000 Sep 2016 Principal Transport reimbursement might be needed to encourage participation

Develop syllabi & materials for MSME programme

Resource persons & Funding

$15 000 Jan-March 2017

Principal Resource person to be hired

Develop database of resource people for lecturing

Secretarial services

$0 Sep 2016 Principal Experienced and unemployed professionals to be utilized

Compile revised CD document

Funding $5 000 Dec 2016 Principal CD document to follow after workshop

Run pilot MSME training programme

Training staff, tools and materials

$40 000 Jan 2017 Principal Practicals done at MPC or Kukwanisa VTC

Introduce short

course training unitPersonnel, funding

$45 000 Jan 2017 DGM R&T Budgetary provisions needed by FC

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Major task Activity Resources Est. Cost Timeline Responsibility CommentsCurricula review

Develop training calendar for short courses

Secretarial services

$0 Jan 2017 Training Manager

Implement short course plan

Resource people, funding

$40 000 Jan 2017 Training Manager

Running short courses can start earlier

Sub-total $155 000

Staff development

Formulate college staff devpt plan

Secretarial services

$0 Jan 2016 DGM R&T Approval by GM (FC)

Secure staff devpt financing

GoZ & Project funding

$0 Jan 2017 GM (FC) Project fund subject to approval

Organize teacher training programme with MTC

Resource people, Funding

$10 000 Jan 2017 Principal Collaboration between MTC & ZCF/FITC to start earlier

Implement staff development programme

Resource people, Funding

$200 000 Jan 2017 DGM R&T Implementation to be driven from FC HQ

Sub-total $210 000

Improve training facilities at ZCF/FITC

Hire expert engineer to design layout of machinery at FITC plant

Resource person, Funding

$5 000 Jan 2016 GM (FC) 5 day consultancy required to get accurate costings of machinery & layout

Seek approval to dispose existing old machinery at FITC

Secretarial services

$0 June 2016 GM (FC) Ministerial approval might be required

Procure new machinery for FITC plant

Funding for: Sawmill unit, carpentry & joinery machinery

$875 000 Jan 2017 Project Management

Procurements subject to approval by project funders

Procure other training equipment

Funding for: forest

$200 000 Jan 2017 Project Management

Procurement list to be compiled; and Procurements subject to approval by

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Major task Activity Resources Est. Cost Timeline Responsibility Comments

& tools measurement tools & equip, Computers & Internet connectivity

project funders

Sub-total $1 080 000Accreditation /Affiliations

Complete affiliation with BUSE

Secretarial services

$5 June 2016 Principal Process already started

Apply for accreditation with MHTE

Secretarial services

$2 000 Sep 2016 Principal Enquiries on accreditation can start earlier

Apply for SAQA accreditation

Secretarial services

$3 000 June 2017 Principal Enquiries to start earlier

Sub-total $5 000Project management

Manage & monitor the project

Personnel, Vehicle

$450 000 Jan 2017- Dec 2020

Project Coordinator

Assume project approved to start Jan 2017

Administer project Travel,Office equip

$50 000 Jan 2017– Dec 2020

Project Coordinator

Sub-total $500 000

TOTAL RESOURCES $2 000 000

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Annex 3: Logical framework matrix forestry education training in Zimbabwe

FAO Project Results Matrix

Results Chain

Indicators

AssumptionsIndicators Baseline Target Means of Verific-

ation (MOV)

Impact1: SO2: Increase and improve provision of goods and services from forestry in a sus-tainable manner2

Institutional capa-city score

Latest figures (FAO)

30 percent Increase Institutional capa-city assessment reports

Outcome: ZCF/FITC is able to meet the changes in the world of work in forestry and forest industry in a cost effective way to meet training requirements of the forestry sector in Zimbabwe

Manpower training at technical, profes-sional and worker levels are met

The size of the informal sector

The demand is not known;

Reliable statistical data is not avail-able

Opportunities for workers training missing

The informal sector continues to grow

The demand for manpower is known including technicians and workers and is in balance with the training

Opportunities for workers training available on demand basis

The number of re-gistered previously informal operators increased 10 %

National and re-gional manpower surveys by NAMACO;

TNA reports by training institutesIndustry associ-ations’ data

National revenue authority data (ZIMRA)

Forest and forest industry policy and strategies are up to date

Funding for strengthening ZCF/FITC training is approved and availed

Outputs

1) National manpower training needs in the formal forestry and forest industry are met

Forest and forest industry sector manpower need forecasts;

The type and the number of profes-sionals that meet the demand

Sector strategies and forecast missing;

The quality of graduates in the work place is not systematically evaluated;

The training insti-tutes do not fol-low-up the place-ment of graduates systematically

An appropriate method for system-atic forecasting of education and train-ing needs in place;

A method for a sys-tematic follow-up of trainees is in place;

Training institutes use the information and are able to pro-duce exactly the type and number of re-quired professionals

National progress reports

Forest strategy is available;

Forest industry strategy is avail-able

Reliable and com-prehensive statist-ical data available (employment / unemployment; retirements)

Results ChainIndicators

AssumptionsIndicators Baseline Target Means of Verific-

ation (MOV)

1 Impact measures project contribution to higher level results, including contribution to CPF. For that purpose, the relevant CPF outcome indicator(s) should be included in the results matrix and tracked.

2 Country Programme Framework for Zimbabwe

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2) Curriculum of ZCF/FITC addresses emer-ging training demands of the forestry, forest industries and MSME sectors in Zimbabwe

Curriculum of ZCF/FITC is re-viewed in line with TNA results and recommendations

New training strategies for ZCF/FITC are developed

Short in-service courses continu-ously run to meet the needs of the forest sector

Training of wood based MSMEs formalised

MSMEs in the forest sector are able to operate efficiently in the forest business

Existing ZCF/FITC curriculum 2010-2015

Training strategy not existing

Only few short courses organ-ized annually form the industry request

No formalized training pro-grammes for MSMEs

No baseline information about MSMEs efficiency avail-able

ZCF/FITC curriculum revised in 2016

ZCF/FITC Training strategy developed in 2017

ZCF/FITC short courses training programme de-veloped in 2016 and full range of courses offered in 2017

Total of 200 workers, supervisors and managers from MSMEs trained in 2017

Study on MSMEs’ production efficiency carried out and re-port available in 2016

Revised curriculum document for 2016 – 2020New Strategic Plan for ZCF/FITC

Training calendar for short courses

Annual achieve-ment reports for ZCF/FITC

Revised ZCF/FITC curriculum docu-ment

Annual Graduation reports by Prin-cipal

Register of MSME Association trained by ZCF/FITC

National reports by Ministry of SMEs

Value chain re-ports by NAMACO

ZCF/FITC stu-dents’ certificates signed jointly with the affiliated uni-versity

Employer feed-back reportsTraining impact reports

ZCF/FITC stake-holder interest and participation in curriculum review is sus-tained

Re-structuring of Forestry Commis-sion will not affect the college

Forestry organiza-tions willing to release candid-ates for training

MSMEs willing to participate in training

Financing for training is avail-able

Political situation remains stable in the country

Funding available for lecturer train-ing

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Results Chain

Indicators

AssumptionsIndicators Baseline Target Means of Verific-

ation (MOV)

3) Quality of training at ZCF/FITC is accepted by stakeholders

ZCF/FITC faculty staff competences improved to meet training demands of forest sector

Training facilities improved to provide hands-on practical skills to students

20% of teachers have adequate professional and pedagogical qualification

Training facilities of ZCF/FITC do not meet the standard of forestry and wood technology education

80 % of teachers have adequate pro-fessional qualifica-tion at the end of the

During Phase II all teachers have re-ceived pedagogical and teaching method training

Training facilities upgraded and estab-lished to meet prac-tical training needs of the MSMEs in forestry and wood processing

Employer feed-back reports

Training impact reports

Annual Project reports

Project’s procure-ment documents and delivery re-ports

Funding available for lecturer train-ing

Funding is avail-able for training

Appropriate tech-nical specifica-tions for tools / machinery avail-able

Funding for pro-curement and machinery se-cured

4) Enterprises in forest industry sector are competitive and able to adjust to the prevailing business environment

Number of tem-porary employ-ees;

Quantity and quality of products;Volume of invest-ment;Waste

Unskilled em-ployees are constantly mov-ing from one employer to the other;

Bulk products of low quality;Low investment levels

Number of temporary employees reduced;

The range of value-added products

Waste has become side products

Investment in busi-ness including raw material supply in-creased by 100 % from 2015

Industry associ-ations reports

Financing for training is avail-able

5) Training available to the informal wood work-ing operators

Tested ap-proaches and methods in train-ing of informal sector operators

Training is institu-tionalised

Limited training opportunities

Little interest in formalising the business

Training available for 100 (one hundred) informal operators annually in the wood working sector

National progress reports

National policies make formalising the businesses attractive

Financing for training is avail-able

Activities 1) National manpower training needs in the formal forestry and forest industry are met

- Development of an appropriate method for systematic forecasting of education and training needs taking into regard regional needs and national differences

- Development of a method for a systematic follow-up of trainees performance in the world of work taking in to regard regional movement of professionals

- Supporting ZCF/FITC to adjust training programmes and contents in time using the information; external (peer) review of curricula and training plans ; Provision of guest lecturers in specialised fields e.g. OSH, bioenergy, biofuels, climate change; teachers exchange and benchmarking

- Supporting the national forestry training institutes and the national TVET agencies to participate in the work of the SADC TVET action programme

2) Curriculum of ZCF/FITC addresses emerging training demands of the forestry, forest industries and MSME sectors in Zimbabwe

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- Supporting, planning and revising the forestry and wood technology curricula- Planning and developing of a TVET curricula for forestry and wood technology education for

Zimbabwe- Supporting, planning and developing of a training strategy for ZCF / FITC forestry and wood

technology education- Planning, preparing and implementing competence-based skills development short courses train-

ing programme to provide training for MSMEs in forestry, wood processing and carpentry and joinery

- Supporting, planning and back stopping to organize a Study on MSMEs’ Production Efficiency and Enterprise Development in Zimbabwe

3) Quality of training at ZCF/FITC is accepted by stakeholders

- Planning and supporting capacity building of ZCF/FITC teachers, trainers and staff in develop-ment of professional and teacher qualifications

- Planning and establishing ZCF/FITC mentorship programmes with forestry and forest industry companies in Zimbabwe

- Planning, designing and supporting ZCF/FITC training facilities development to meet industry training needs, especially improved practical training provision

- Supporting and planning for developing ZCF/FITC in-come generating activities to improve sus-tainability and viability of the institute

4) MSMEs in forest industry sector are competitive and able to adjust to the prevailing business environ-ment (National activity)

- Supporting ZCF/FITC in planning, preparing and implementing short courses for recognized industry association members; Promoting issuance of trade test certificates; follow-up and evalu-ation of the impact of training

- Planning, preparation and implementation of mentorships for industry associations manager/owners including introduction of production planning applications (e.g. saw milling simulation);

- Supporting value chain analyses aiming at increasing the range of value-added products- Detailed study on bioenergy including recommended investment options- Supporting investment planning leading to investment in business including raw material supply

5) Training available to the informal wood working operators

- Detailed survey (sample 1000/country in several locations) of the informal wood working sector including raw material supply, production, machinery and equipment, willingness to attend train-ing, ability and willingness to pay for training, incentives needed; Report with recommendations including need for policy/legislation changes; Incorporating gvt agency responses to the hypo-thesis; Recommendations for the best approach and method of training; Possible preconditions for training eligibility

- Design of the approache(s) and methods for training; National decision making to proceed- National capacity development: Procurement of training equipment, tools, materials appropriate

to the needs of the clients- National delivery of training; evaluation; Adjustments;- National institutional arrangements for continued training including development of financing

systems

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