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Ministry of Defence Permanent Secretary, Maambo Haamaundu, has announced that the second cohort of the Zambia National Service (ZNS) Voluntary National Service Training programme will be recruited this year.
In a statement issued in Lusaka on Thursday by Ministry Principal Public Relations Officer Paul Shalala, Haamaundu said that once the inaugural cohort graduates in April 2026, the selection process for the second intake would begin.
Haamaundu explained that the Voluntary National Service Training was a Presidential directive, which the Ministry of Defence was executing as instructed.
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“The first cohort of youths who were being trained at the ZNS Chiwoko Training School in Eastern Province, ZNS Kitwe Training School on the Copperbelt, and ZNS Chishimba Training School in Northern Province started training in September 2025 and will graduate in April 2026,” he said.
He revealed that the Ministry of Defence recruited 1,138 youths in the first cohort—exceeding the initial target of 1,092 drawn from all 156 constituencies nationwide.
Haamaundu further stated that the second cohort would maintain the same number of trainees due to the limited capacity of the three ZNS training centres.
“The government wants to ensure that all the youths who are trained create jobs for themselves and other youths,” Haamaundu said.
He noted that government had several empowerment programmes that young people can leverage to establish businesses.
“With the skills which they get from the training, with the Basic Military Training and discipline, the culture they will have, they will be good employees not just for government but even for the private sector,” he added.
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