Zim Universities Should Let Students Work Remotely For Attachment, Says ZimWorX Co-Founder

ZimWorX co-founder JW Oliver has argued that Zimbabwean universities need to allow students to work remotely for their industrial attachment. In a release sent to Techzim, Oliver said remote work is now commonplace, even in Zimbabwe, and that “Internship policies of higher learning institutions should reflect this reality.”

Currently, Zim universities only recognise attachments (known as internships elsewhere) where students work on-site at their host companies. Some, like Bindura University of Science Education, allow students to do their attachment outside Zimbabwe, but in person, and the student has to foot the travel bill of the lecturer carrying out the assessment.

The way it works here is that the student’s university supervisor has to physically visit the workplace to assess the student’s work in person. Seems the issue with remote work is that universities don’t have the mechanisms to assess someone working for a US-based company from their living room in Mabvuku. It’s a policy thing really.

The problem with the current setup is that many students who fail to get on-site attachment end up having their studies delayed. And Zimbabwe doesn’t exactly have lots of employment opportunities at the moment. It’s a tough time to be a student.

Oliver says it doesn’t have to be this way. “The world is changing. The days when working for a company automatically meant being physically present at its premises are gone. Work can now be done from anywhere in the world. Industrial attachment policies in Zimbabwe’s colleges should match this reality.”

“The entire purpose of an internship is to prepare a student for the day-to-day realities of the work environment. If work has shifted from only being done on-site to also being done remotely, shouldn’t the learning experience reflect this?”

Oliver co-founded ZimWorX which we are told now “employs” some 1300 Zimbabweans. ZimWorX is structured as an Employer of Record for these Zimbabweans, which just means it connects them to remote jobs in the USA and UK and takes responsibility for things like processing salaries, and compliance with labour laws. In ZimWorX’s case, they also provide a place for these remote workers to work from (for reliable high speed internet, power etc…)

There are a few other companies like this locally, but ZimWorX looks like the largest. Typical roles people fill for ZimWorX clients include receptionists, executive assistants, accountants, paralegals, and marketers.

There are also many Zimbabweans working remote jobs they find directly on the internet, like graphic design, software engineering, and English language teaching.

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