Namibians show their mettle

Ester Kamati

The Namibia Training Authority (NTA), in partnership with various sponsors, volunteers and individuals, launched the second National Skills Competition to not only find a representative for the country for the international WorldSkills competition, but to give talented Namibians a platform to showcase their expertise.

From cooking, hairdressing, carpentry, welding and many more technical, vocational jobs, as well as other skills training, Namibia has it all.

The country did not shy away from showing it as the competition, which commenced on 2 April.

Sponsors, competitors, experts as well as the general public flocked to the Ramatex complex in Windhoek to witness the opening ceremony of this prestigious event.

Paulus Immanuel, on behalf of the mayor of the City of Windhoek, delivered the opening remarks.

He said it was especially appreciated that the competitors travelled from their home towns to stay and participate in the competition hosted in the capital city.

He emphasised the competition is a platform to exchange ideas, as participants learn from each other.

Amon Ngavetene, the board chairperson of NTA, highlighted that the country’s technical and vocational training sector is faced with the challenge of being perceived as inferior.

“Our society continues to place a high value on professional jobs,” he said.

Ngavetene said stigma unfairly isolates technical and vocational careers, influencing children to think of them as low status, low paying and dirty jobs, which offer little prospect for career advancement and growth.

“General lack of information of TVET sector career decisions results in individuals ending up in career paths in which they lack passion and drive and in which their talent and potential to grow and innovate are compromised.”

He commended lawmakers for considering this societal actuality when they crafted the Vocational Education and Technical Training Act of 2006 to aid in countering these negative societal perceptions.

Ngavetene said the NTA has observed significant improvement in the perception of vocational training due to the influence of social media, as well as the launching and encouragement of events such as the skills competition.

He said stakeholders need to assist in sensitising learners, teachers and the nation at large about technical and vocational education and training (TVET) programmes and career options.

Educational specialist Sonia Godino said it is a pleasure for the European Union to collaborate with Namibia in the promotion of technical and vocational education.

She further described the event as a milestone for all the people involved in the vocational education sector.

Deputy higher education minister Becky Ndjoze-Ojo, on behalf of Minister Itah Kandjii-Murangi, said ministry has a vision that appreciates a well-educated and appropriately skilled population as a precondition for Namibia’s successful transition to an industrialised and knowledge-based economy.

She added that technical and vocational training is recognised as the most practical avenue for acquiring readily employable skills for the world of work.

NTA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jerry Beukes said he appreciated the efforts of their partners who have contributed to the progress observed thus far and described the event as a collective effort.

He further acknowledged all the sponsors for their financial contributions, which made the event a success.

“It is only when we do extraordinary things that we realise how special we are,” Beukes said to the competitors.

He concluded with the words: “Let the games begin.”