As Artificial Intelligence (AI) accelerates the transformation of global economies, the nature of work is being fundamentally redefined. Across continents and industries, employers are no longer prioritising where workers come from or even which institutions they attended, but what they can practically do.
Skills — measurable, demonstrable and adaptable have become the primary currency of employability. In this emerging reality, passports matter less than competencies and experience often outweigh formal academic titles. For Zimbabwe, this shift presents both a sobering warning and a powerful opportunity.
AI is no longer a distant concept confined to research laboratories or advanced economies. It is already embedded in everyday systems, banking platforms, telecommunications networks, energy management, healthcare diagnostics, transport logistics, manufacturing processes and cybersecurity operations. While public debate often focuses on fears of job losses, the global evidence tells a more nuanced story. AI is not simply destroying work, it is restructuring it. New roles are emerging.
Many of them are technical, hybrid and skills-intensive and requiring workers who can install, maintain, secure, interpret and adapt intelligent systems.
What is striking is that a significant proportion of these in-demand roles do not require traditional university degrees. Instead, they demand practical training, hands-on experience and continuous up-skilling.
These are attributes most effectively delivered through apprenticeships and vocational education pathways. Electricians with digital control skills, ICT technicians with cybersecurity awareness, engineers familiar with automation, data-handling professionals trained in privacy and protection and technicians who can work alongside AI-enabled tools are now among the most sought-after workers globally.
This is where Zimbabwe faces a critical strategic choice. For decades, the dominant narrative has equated success with academic progression alone, often culminating in migration. Apprenticeships and technical training have been unfairly stigmatised as second-tier options, reserved for those who did not excel in formal examinations. In the AI-driven global economy, this mindset is increasingly outdated and counterproductive. Countries that recognised early the value of vocational excellence are now exporting skills rather than talent drain.
Zimbabwe’s demographic profile makes this issue particularly urgent. With a young population and high levels of unemployment and underemployment, the country cannot afford to prepare its youth for shrinking job categories while global demand is expanding elsewhere. Apprenticeships offer a direct bridge between education and work, enabling learners to acquire real-world experience, industry exposure and globally relevant competencies. Properly structured, they reduce the mismatch between training and labour market needs, a persistent weakness in many developing economies.
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AI is also transforming how and where work is performed. Remote employment, digital contracting and cross-border service provision are now mainstream. A skilled technician in Harare or Bulawayo can support systems in Europe, the Middle East or North America without ever relocating. Freelance platforms, enterprise outsourcing and international consultancy arrangements increasingly reward those with verified skills, certifications and experience portfolios. In this environment, the absence of practical skills is a greater barrier than geography.
Yet skills acquisition cannot be static. AI systems evolve rapidly, regulatory frameworks change and cyber threats grow more sophisticated. This places a premium on lifelong learning and continuous professional development. Apprenticeships must therefore not be viewed as one-off training events, but as entry points into dynamic career pathways supported by ongoing upskilling. Technical institutions, industry players and professional bodies all have a role to play in ensuring curricula remain current and aligned with technological realities.
For policymakers, the implications are clear. Investment in modern vocational training infrastructure is no longer optional, it is an economic necessity. Apprenticeship frameworks must be updated to reflect emerging technologies, including automation, AI support systems, digital security and data management. Partnerships between government, industry and training institutions should be strengthened to ensure apprentices gain exposure to real equipment, live systems and current industry practices. Incentives for employers to take on apprentices, particularly in high-demand technical fields, can accelerate skills transfer and job creation simultaneously.
Parents and communities also have a role in reshaping perceptions. Technical competence should be celebrated, not side lined.
A young person who can design, maintain, secure or optimise digital and engineering systems is not “less successful” than one who follows a purely academic route. In fact, in many global markets, such individuals are more employable, more mobile and more resilient to economic shocks.
Zimbabwe has no shortage of talent. Across the diaspora, Zimbabweans are already contributing meaningfully to global ICT systems, engineering projects, cybersecurity operations, healthcare technologies and digital infrastructure. The challenge is not capability, but coordination, creating domestic pathways that allow young people to acquire globally competitive skills without first having to leave the country. Apprenticeships, properly valued and resourced, offer one of the most effective mechanisms to achieve this.
Ultimately, the AI revolution poses a simple but uncomfortable question; is Zimbabwe preparing its workforce for the realities of the future or for the structures of the past? As technology reshapes industries and borders become less relevant to work, national competitiveness will depend on skills agility rather than academic prestige alone.
Countries that recognise this will thrive, and those that do not risk being left behind.
The world is already hiring. It is hiring technicians, engineers, digital specialists, cybersecurity professionals and adaptable problem-solvers. It is hiring skills, not passports. Zimbabwe’s task now is to ensure its people are ready to compete.
- Mutisi is the CEO of Hansole Investments (Pvt) Ltd and the current chairperson of Zimbabwe Information & Communication Technology, a division of Zimbabwe Institution for Engineers.
