Twikatane Ndola Vocational Training Centre is a Skills Training Centre, wanted and planned in the early ‘80s by the Franciscan Conventual Friars, in order to offer Arts and Crafts technical training to young girls and boys otherwise unable to complete their education due to the financial straits of their families, who cannot afford expensive tuitions… Presently it offers courses in Carpentry and Joinery, Tailoring and Design, Computer studies at basic and advanced levels and Entrepreneurship.
The Centre was opened in July 1987 with the precious help of the C.V.M, an Italian NGO of Volunteers from Marche region, who directed Twikatane till June 1992, when they left the Centre in the hands of the Franciscan Friars, who have since been running it with the help of local Staff and Trainers, as well as teachers in computer studies and practice. Twikatane presently employs 10 instructors, technicians and support staff and it is registered under TEVETA (Technical Education, Vocational Entrepreneurship Training Authority). Graded as a grade three Vocational training institution, it conducts Government tests up to the level of grade 7, 6, and 5, with Certificates fully recognised by the Government.
From the beginning, to the students who earn a Certificate in Carpentry, Twikatane provides a free-of-charge Carpentry Tool-Box and to those who get a Tailoring Certificate it provides – also free-of-charge – a Sewing Machine. This is done in order to give them a chance to start producing something to sell in their Compounds, thus earning some money while searching for employment. As for those who get a Certificate in Computer training, Twikatane tries its best to provide Computers at the cheapest price possible.
Twikatane has three Departments:
Administration: in charge of the general running of the project, the planning of its various activities, its financial administration, the counselling, the discipline, etc.
Academic: in charge of all the training courses and their exams, done by examiners appointed by Teveta and recognized by the Government.
Production Unit: a department created to generate income, thus supporting the day-to-day running costs, e.g. salaries and gratuities, all the material necessary for training and income generating production, equipment maintenance and spare parts, transport, etc…
A - Carpentry and Joinery Training Course:
The Beginning – The first Carpentry and Joinery Course (of the duration of 3 years, including 6 months of industrial attachment) was opened in July 1987 with 16 young men from the nearby Townships. Its mission and purpose was to train and equip young men in carpentry and joinery skills, enabling them either to work on self-employment basis, or to be employed by industrial companies. The Response was excellent: for many years we had a minimal request of 20 or more students asking for training in every course. In the five latest years the number at times reduced, due to the mushrooming of back-yard workshops, often run by unskilled labourers, offering cheap services and low quality goods.
Being Settled in the Copperbelt, however, the course enjoyed the advantage of availability of material and other resources. Ndola – the Copperbelt Regional Chief-town – was an industrial and commercial city, rapidly growing in the construction industry, hence quite in need of skilled labourers. The main items produced included basic home furniture, i.e. chairs, stools, tables and desks, beds, cabinets, doors, but also church benches, etc. while the main subjects taught included Drawing, Communication Skills, Mathematics, Entrepreneurship, Religious Education and Social activities.
The results of this Training process, over the years counted 333 students getting a Certificate, 98% being young men presently employed in formal and informal sectors.
The Present – Today the very long first Course of the beginnings has been modified in three sections of 1 Semester each (1 year 6 months altogether) and today’s enrolment stands at 24/30 students at the three different levels and it is completed by a period of industrial attachment in various companies and industries, after which they undergo their exams, under the supervision of the Examination Council of Zambia, in which they graduate at Gr. 7, 6 and 5 respectively: that’s the moment when they are awarded by the Franciscan Friars with the precious gift of the Tool-Box.
B - Design Cutting and Tailoring Course
This Course too began in July 1987, with 16 young students from nearby Townships. The duration of the first course was of 2 years, with 3 months of industrial attachment.
The Mission of the Course was to train and equip young women in Design Cutting, Tailoring and Entrepreneurship to enable them to engage either in self-employment or in formal industrial employment, once their technical skills be proved and confirmed by a State recognized Certificate.
The Response was overwhelming, to the point that the initial class of 16 students, over the years increased to 30 students. The main subjects of the Course included Knitting, Tie and Dye, Crocheting, Home Management, plus Communication Skills, Mathematics, Social Development and Religious Education. By drafting and making up garments the students were making items like baby and girl dresses, boy shirts, trousers, dust coats, overalls, etc. This resulted in the successful training of over 500 students, 95% of them being young women presently employed in formal and informal sectors.
At present the long Course of the past has also been reduced to 3 Semesters and the enrolment stands at 45 students at the three different levels. Six months part-time Courses in Tailoring have also been offered, especially to house wives, working ladies, etc. and they are still requested. Already around 80 part-students have been trained in Hand, Treadle and Industrial sewing machines, proving beyond doubt to contribute positively to the development of the community. In one word, they have been quite a success.
In conclusion, the Design, Cutting and Tailoring Courses have to date graduated 500 girls and ladies in Grade 7, 6 and 5, after exposing them all to practical attachment experience in various Companies and Industries. All the 500 graduated young women have been empowered with the free-of-charge gift of sewing machines.
C - Computer Courses
Computer Courses were introduced into Twikatane in July 2004, with 16 Pentium1 computers. Local Staff was engaged and the main emphasis was to equip students with basic computer skills. In due time, the first course was rated as a “Computer Level 1” and it received over-whelming response, such that up to 3 classes were enrolled at the same time, thus providing quite a good financial support to the Training Centre daily operations. Over the years, even high school leavers and people in employment managed to pursue good expertise in computer info, despite the fact that fees were kept minimal. Quite a good number of our trainees found commitment in various fields, while – for example – 6 of them have been called to serve in Peace-Missions under the United Nations.
The Basic Course presently focuses on the concept of introduction to Information Technology (IT), Hard and Software, Office Packages/Applications and lastly the Internet (International Network). The Course runs for 6 weeks with 16 students at every intake, dealing with:
Microsoft Word, teaching “word processing”, to produce reports, letters and text-based documents
Microsoft Excel, teaching how to use spreadsheets, entering and manipulating the data, building of formulas and creation of charts to analyze the data
Microsoft PowerPoint, teaching how to prepare the presentation of a given topic and the use of projectors, quite essential for such presentation
Microsoft Publisher, where the students learn how to use graphic designs for publishing various professional documents found in news letters, brochures, adverts, etc. and lastly
Internet, by introducing the students to send and receive mail, search for websites which offer many advantages e.g. jobs’ chances, publish applications of all kinds, advertising professional qualifications, etc…
In December 2006 our Computer Courses got new impulse when Volunteers from Austria came to help us. Fresh from various High schools, like Neufelden and Klagenfurt Technical High School, Vorarlberg Tourism High School, Vienna General High School, to mention just a few, straight away they offered technical support in hardware, software, maintenance and repairs. Towards the end of 2006, though, using improved computers donated to replace the old ones, they also began to teach with Windows 2000 Professional NT operating system. A local area network was mounted and the laboratory went through a series of facelifts.
In 2007 an Internet Café was built to enable both students and customers to have access to Internet. Meanwhile in 2009 the Volunteers conducted a more advanced eight weeks Course with 16 students already familiar with computers. The Course included Networking, Trouble shooting, Hardware, advanced Microsoft Word and advanced Microsoft Excel.
At present, they have on schedule to run still more advanced courses that will cover professional programs at the following levels:
Webdesign (advanced), (adding Internet HTML, FTP (fileZilla) and First Homepage)
Networking (basics) (with IP address, devices, Command prompt, Sharing + Users and Mounting a small Network)
Networking (advanced) (Theory: OSI Basic, Protocols and Configuring Router + WLAN)
Professional Course (including Programming loops, conditions, Data Base SQL, MySQL, PHPMyAdmin, Advanced Microsoft Access 2003)
Linux Operating System (with Ubuntu practical start UP, Suse and Commands)
Conclusion: in a word, with such information technology, Twikatane has grown and with God’s grace and the help of committed people – both Zambians as well as friends from abroad, will hopefully keep growing more and more. For the time being, a panoramic view of all the 3 Departments of our Training Centre tells us that from the start to date already a good 1,179 young students (and some 30 Adults too) have obtained a Certificate and most of them have also been employed. Praise be to God… and deep, sincere thanks to all those who endeavour to the best of their talents to make this miracle possible.
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