The initiative was organised in partnership with the Namibian Employers’ Federation (NEF), GIZ Namibia, Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) and the Namibian Training Authority (NTA), under its Work Integrated Learning (WIL) division. The event, hosted both virtually and with a limited number of physical attendees, was for all businesses and organisations that believes in the potential of apprenticeship or wanted more information about it and its benefits.

Throughout the week, various events aimed to show the success and value of apprenticeships for a sustainable development. It was a great opportunity to highlight how apprenticeship works can help to address some of the nation’s pressing challenges.

The Deputy Executive Director of the Ministry of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, Raaimo Naanda, read the keynote address on behalf of the Minister of Higher Education, Itah Kandjii-Murangi, pointing out that internships are equipping apprentices for a different labour market.

Cheryl James, from the Skills Initiative for Africa, spoke about the importance of creating opportunities for young people and underlined that apprenticeship can be a successful experience in most African countries.

WIL manager, Daliya Mwiya, said that the week aimed to grow knowledge on this particular programme and to underline the NTA’s commitment to apprenticeship. The association, according to the Vocational Education and Training Act of 2008, is entrusted with the effective regulation and funding of the provision of Vocational Education and Training in the country. It contributes to the establishment of an effective and sustainable system of skills formation aligned with the needs of the labour market and which provides the skills required for accelerated economic development.

“In recognition of ensuring that partnership exists between the VET (Vocational Education and Training) sector and industry, the NTA adopted a work-integrated learning framework that foresees the re-introduction of the apprenticeship training scheme and the setting of standards to implement industrial attachment and Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in TVET (Technical and Vocational Education and Training),” she added.

Apprenticeship is a way to provide young people opportunities to enter high-value work-based learning. The NTA has recently entered into many such agreements with some public and private sector partners and has been providing funding to employers to take on apprentices in different sectors since 2018.

The employers’ association NEF founded the Global Apprenticeship Network of Namibia (GAN Namibia), a division dedicated to encouraging employers in integrating work-based learning and support employers to apply to the NTA for a N$53,600 Financial Incentive for the National Apprenticeship Programme, per apprentice, per annum.

At this regard, NTA, under its Work Integrated Learning (WIL) division, recently announced a new Apprenticeship application window from 1 December 2021 to 31 March 2022 for eligible employers.

It applies to all companies and employers planning to recruit apprentices in 2022.