Africa-Press – Namibia. IN the technical and vocational education and training sector, only 80 employers are participating in the apprenticeship programme in the country while there are over 34 000 trainees.
The deputy executive director of the higher education ministry, Raimo Naanda, said this shows that employers are not interested in training.
“Only 80 employers are participating in the apprentice scheme, while over 2 800 employers are paying the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) levy.
“The NTA has implemented a levy on employers whose annual payroll is more than N$1 million to contribute 1% towards training,” Naando said.
He was speaking during the launch of the MTC Namibia national internship programme yesterday.
Naanda said companies who are paying this levy get an incentive.
“If you train, you can claim up to 50% of your training cost. Why are we not taking advantage of that? Why are we not taking any more trainees,” he questioned.
SKILLS MISMATCH
Naanda highlighted the mismatch between skills delivered and skills needed on the job.
Last year, the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) echoed these sentiments, saying Namibia needs to reform its education system because it fails to meet labour market demands.
The APRM report stated that the curriculum in its current form creates a mismatch between Namibia’s basic and tertiary education sector and the requirements of the labour market.
“The provision of skills and vocational training in the informal economy lacks a coordinated and integrated skills development strategy,” the report highlighted.
The University of Namibia (Unam) and Namibia University of Science and Technology have both expressed difficulty in securing internships for their students.
Previously, the Ministry of Higher Education, Technology and Innovation stated that there are more than 67 000 unemployed graduates in the country.
Naanda also pointed out that when they invite captains of industry to engagements, they send junior staff who cannot take decisions.
“As a country, if we need to go forward, we need to take education and training very seriously,” he said.
In the apprenticeship programme, there are more than 500 trainees taking part in this programme.
Wocational training centres (VTC) in the country have 34 000 trainees in total.
“We are preparing the sixth National Development Plan, and are targeting to double that figure for the trainees who all must get jobs in the sector,” Naanda added.
He said the government is working on a framework on work-integrated learning.
“We have constituted a high-level committee involving State House, MTC, institutions of higher learning and the private sector to work on a policy framework,” he explained.
The deputy director said during this process, they realised that most institutions have their own frameworks that are uncoordinated.
“We want to have a coordinated approach,” he said.
INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME
Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) and the Office of the Prime Minister will collectively contribute N$2 million annually.
“So, we are looking for other corporate companies out there to come on board with a contribution of at least N$200 000,” said MTC chief human capital, corporate affairs and marketing officer Tim Ekandjo.
They have so far assisted 600 students on a budget amounting to N$7 million to date.
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