Martin Endjala
The Higher Education, Technology and Innovation Minister, Itah Kandji-Murangi, is urging the newly appointed Namibia Training Authority (NTA) board to accelerate the process of integrating the Technical Vocational Education Training qualifications and aligned it with that of the national framework.
The Minister urged during the appointment of seven board members of NTA yesterday, directing it to accelerate the process of appointing a new Chief Executive Officer as it is one of the very critical elements to the entities success and relevance. Kandji-Murangi advises the board to expand TVETs by digitalising and introducing new trades instead of just replicating trades that have already been inexistence for years.
The minister emphasises that TVET is the engine of Namibia’s manufacturing, industrialisation, job creation, financial independence, new enterprises, home grown solutions, economic growth and improved livelihoods. Further noting that this is why government decided to embark on a very costly exercise of taking TVET to all regions by building TVETs centres. TVET are said to be 70 percent practice and 30 percent theory.
However, despite the initiative by government to expand TVET centres across the country, the Minister wants to see the actual work being done in their manufacturing hubs to produce the end product to eradicate the dependence syndrome, were Namibia is hugely relying on other countries.
Furthermore, she highlights that technical trades are very critical in the field of green hydrogen, oil and gas, rail transportation, harbour operation as well as other future careers. Thus adamantly encouraging that she wants to see TVET programmes well aligned with emerging economic growth areas in Namibia, as well as to align itself digitally cognizant of the 4IRand 5IR industrial revolution on the rise.
Meanwhile, she points out that TVET is not dead-end career globally, stating that only in some developing countries were it has not been exploited yet. “We cannot allow a TVET dead-end after 33 decades of indepence”, Kandji-Murangi says.
Chairperson of the Association of Technical Education Vocational Training Institutions in Namibia (ATVETIN) Regina Ambambi, says they welcome the response by the minister as they would like to provide training programmes that are responsive to the country’s market. Ambambi adds that most of the current programmes with NTA needs to be reviewed to formulate programmes that add value to the labour market.
“We are producing for the Namibian market, so if we are producing graduates who have qualifications but are not relevant to the labour market, then were do we put them,” she says against concerns that they are literally producing for the streets. She is therefore of the opinion that if the new board takes this natter as a priority and implement the needed changes, it will be a plus for them as training providers. As this will give them directions and it is relieve on their side, as they now know that ones their trainees graduate, they will be relevant to the labour market.
Meanwhile, the appointed members are Jerome Mutumba board chairperson, Ester Hoveka deputy chairperson, Cliff Olivier, Eva Fritz-Tomas, Tangeni Nghiwewelekwa, Elizabeth Kamutuezu and Edward Kafita.
