TIRI MASAWI
The government says it is spending about N$400 million every year to improve standards, equipment and facilities at vocational training centres across the country.
The disclosure comes amid concerns that some Technical and Vocational Education and Training (ProTVET) students are struggling to access Namibia’s emerging green hydrogen sector and are instead being deployed to unrelated tasks during internships.
The ProTVET programme, implemented with financial and technical support from GIZ, is aimed at strengthening vocational training systems and aligning them with industry needs.
“Some of the challenges we see on the ground are that some students who are on work related industrial learning are not being trained in the actual field they are being trained in. Some are in instances working as cleaners because of a lack of a follow up and follow through mechanism from the vocational training centres,” Professor Zivayi Chiguvare, head of the Green Hydrogen Institute at the University of Namibia said last week.
Responding to the concerns, Acting Executive Director in the Ministry of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts and Culture, Knox Otto Imbuwa, said the ministry is working with the Namibian Training Authority and development partners to prioritise funding for equipment in training centres.
He said equipment has been procured over the past five financial years to support training in areas such as electronics, plumbing, auto mechatronics, solar installation and hospitality.
“With reference to the response above, the ministry, through the budget allocated to the Namibian Training Authority, continues to support training institutions with a dedicated annual budget that typically averages around N$400 million,” Imbuwa said.
He added that part of the allocation is used to procure equipment for training centres.
“The government allocation is supported by the VET levy to support training and to purchase training materials and build capacity of trainers in both public and private training centres,” he said.
Imbuwa acknowledged challenges faced by ProTVET graduates in accessing relevant workplace training during internships, saying the sector also depends on industry participation.
“For certain specialised training areas, the sector and the Ministry rely on relevant industries to provide training equipment and facilities to trainees in actual work environments or industrial settings.”
He said this is done through Work Integrated Learning programmes, which place trainees with employers to combine classroom learning with practical exposure.
“The Work Integrated Learning approach is particularly important in sectors such as electrical engineering training, especially the high-voltage component, where it is not practical to install or simulate high-voltage infrastructure in training centres,” he said.
He added that emerging sectors such as green hydrogen offer internship opportunities where specialised equipment is only available at operational plants and project sites.
Imbuwa also said vocational institutions are subject to strict quality assurance requirements by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) and registration processes by the Namibian Training Authority (NTA).
“It should be noted that a significant number of trainers hold qualifications above NQF level 3, and the Ministry continues to work closely with Namibia University of Science and Technology, and the University of Namibia as well as other sister countries to continually upgrade trainers skills and qualifications.”
He said the aim is to build a stronger pool of trainers qualified beyond Level 3 on the National Qualifications Framework, allowing centres to expand training up to Level 6.
Imbuwa said the ministry recently launched the National Work Integrated Learning Policy to strengthen practical workplace exposure for trainees.
According to the ministry, the policy is meant to ensure graduates leave training institutions with hands-on experience and are better prepared for the job market.
He also said the NTA is developing the Skills Development Plan 3, which identifies priority TVET skills needs for the next five years.
“This plan is developed in collaboration with industry to ensure that the limited funding available is aligned with labour market demands and the skills employers demand,” he said.
COMMENTS