Mortuary work, the new ‘saviour’ for unemployed youths

AS Zimbabwe continue to grapple with unemployment, a growing number of young people are turning to an unlikely profession — mortuary services.

With formal job opportunities scarce, many youths say they have no choice but to embrace careers as morticians, despite cultural stigmas and the emotional challenges of handling the dead.

For 24-year-old Tinashe Moyo, becoming a mortician was not his childhood dream, but economic reality forced his hand.

“I applied for countless jobs after finishing my studies, but nothing came,” he said.

“When I saw an advert for mortician training, I hesitated, but what else could I do? At least here, there’s work.”

Like Moyo, many young Zimbabweans are enrolling in funeral service training programmes offered by institutions such as Silverstone Funeral Services, one of the country’s leading trainers in mortuary science.

The demand for skilled morticians has risen as funeral parlours expand to meet growing needs, partly due to high mortality rates linked to disease outbreaks, suicides, natural deaths and road accidents.

In Zimbabwe, death is often shrouded in tradition, and working with the deceased has long been viewed with suspicion.

Many families discourage their children from taking up mortuary work, associating it with bad omens or spiritual unrest.

“At first, my mother refused to speak to me when I told her I was training to be a mortician,” said 22-year-old Rumbidzai Chikomo.

“She said it was a job for outcasts. But when I started earning, her tone changed. Now, I help pay my siblings’ school fees.”

Despite gradual acceptance, morticians still face social isolation.

Some say they avoid mentioning their profession in public to escape judgment.

Beyond cultural barriers, the work itself is emotionally taxing.

Preparing bodies — some disfigured, some of children — takes a psychological toll.

“The first time I handled a child’s body, I cried for days,” admitted 26-year-old Blessing Ndlovu.

“But we remind ourselves that we’re giving families closure. That keeps us going.”

Additionally, the industry has its own struggles — long hours, exposure to hazardous materials and sometimes inadequate protective gear.

Yet, for many, it remains the only viable livelihood.

Funeral service companies report increasing enrolment in training programmes.

Silverstone Funeral Services, for instance, has seen a rise in youth applicants over the past two years.

“Young people are realising that this is a dignified profession with steady demand,” says Silverstone’s training co-ordinator Nigel Mlima.

“We teach them embalming, grief counselling and business skills so they can even start their own funeral homes.”

As Zimbabwe’s economy struggles, the mortuary business, ironically, remains recession-proof.

For youths, it’s not just a job — it’s survival.

“People will always die,” said a youthful graduate Yvette Manwa.

“At least this way, we won’t starve.” Newsday