CoW, WVTC work towards skills development
The City of Windhoek (CoW) signed a five-year cooperation agreement with the Windhoek Vocational Training Centre (WVTC) recently.The institutions agreed to work together to provide practical training opportunities through job apprenticeships for an initial 26 WVTC vocational students.
The agreement, which takes effect in May, aims to support both technical skills development as well as youth empowerment. The agreement includes collaboration on trade curriculum and programme development, human capital development and capacity building, joint research and development, vocational education training skills information sharing, consulting assistance and project management, and infrastructure development.
CoW acting chief executive Jennifer Comalie, said during the signing ceremony that the cooperation agreement will benefit both institutions in the advancement of public engagement and education. She added that the CoW is acutely aware of the high youth unemployment numbers in the country and hopes that this initiative will become an important intervention in this regard.
She encouraged the WVTC students to make good use of their internships at the City, including learning more about starting their own businesses from the CoW’s Economic Development and Community Services department.
“Small, micro and medium enterprises are the backbone of our economy and with our support, these artisans can expand their skillsets to empower them to be successful entrepreneurs in future,” Comalie said.
‘Smart partnership’
The CoW’s acting strategic executive for Human Capital and Corporate Services, Archie Nikanor, said that the cooperation agreement with the WVTC is a smart partnership that will contribute to skills development while also contributing to social equality, the empowerment of vulnerable groups, poverty rate reductions, economic development and actively contribute to government’s human resources development plan.
He explained that, as part of the CoW’s efforts to contribute to the alleviation of the many challenges experienced by the youth, the organisation adopted an aggressive and impactful internship policy and programme.
“Through the execution of this strategy, the CoW currently affords in excess of 450 internship opportunities to students and young graduates - mostly from previously disadvantaged backgrounds. The internship opportunities range across a wide scope of academic and technical areas and provide experiential learning and industry experience aimed at skilling young students and graduates to confidently enter and add value to the broader economy.”
The chairperson of the WVTC, Webster Gonzo, thanked the CoW for inviting the WVTC to benefit from a strategic partnership that enables the WVTC to realise its own ambition of providing skilled and competent artisans to the Namibian workforce. The WVTC is the flagship institution in the Namibian vocational education and training system providing training in a number of trades, including mechanical, building, construction, auto, and electrical trades.