VTCs seek to close skills gap

R&J Steytler and Jiaheng Boda (Beijing) Educational Consulting CC have signed a partnership agreement to collaborate on building an ecosystem aimed at improving employability outcomes for vocational training graduates.

At the signing, John Steytler said the agreement followed an overarching agreement signed previously with the Chinese Africa Economic Trade and Culture Promotion Association of Namibia.

The most recent signing took place at the association's offices at 8 List Street in Windhoek, opposite the Marigold Hotel Windhoek, and followed a visit to State House, where Steytler and his senior partner, Vijay Jha, accompanied Yubo (Bob) Wang, co-founder and partner of Jiaheng Boda, for introductions.

According to Steytler, the presidency also wanted the partnership to look at incorporating Namibia's information, communication and technology sector into its development plans.

Initially, however, Jiaheng Boda will focus on gaining a full understanding of the gap between the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) Level 4 abilities taught at local vocational training centres (VTCs) and the Level 6 qualifications taught at local universities.

Steytler said this gap was contributing to a shortage of highly skilled artisans needed by local mines and Namibia's emerging oil industry.

According to Wang, the intention was to build an ecosystem together to fill that gap.

Steytler said the demand for such skills was massive and that Namibia desperately needed more vocational professionals equipped “to operate on a globally competitive level”.

Wang said Chinese mining contractor GMS Namibia, which was active at the Husab uranium mine and was also building the new Twin Hills gold mine, had already committed to supporting the initiative.

Week-long interactive visits to campuses, as well as longer-term internships and apprenticeships, were among the co-operative initiatives that the partnership would facilitate with GMS Namibia and other Namibian mining and oil companies.

“Education is the key,” Wang said, explaining that the partnership intended to bring a supply of quality artisan skills to meet demand.

He said the problem lay between what companies required and what VTCs currently provided, pointing to examples of companies using the latest fifth- and sixth-generation machinery while students were being taught to work on second- or third-generation equipment.

This meant graduates who were employed had to be retrained, which was costly and could take between six and 12 months.

Having visited the Ngato VTC in Rundu, Wang said he was convinced that entering the limited and highly competitive job market was difficult despite the hard work being done by students.

“The partnership's job here was to understand the demand and to mitigate the gaps through more internships and more on-site training,” Wang said.

Wang said improved communication would help identify home-grown solutions to address the situation.

Jha said R&J Steytler was also in negotiations with French and other international partners expected to visit Namibia later this month to join the initiative.

Wang said a Chinese university of science and technology also supported the initiative and would help make Chinese educational resources available.

Prof. Peter Katjavivi, chancellor of the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST), was also scheduled to attend the launch but was unable to be present.

In his prepared speech, Katjavivi said stronger and more purposeful collaboration between educational institutions, industry and international partners was needed.

“We must equip our young people not only with knowledge, but with the technical skills, practical experience, confidence and innovative capacity required to participate meaningfully in a changing economy,” his speech reads.