NTA signs vocational training apprenticeship agreements

WINDHOEK, 28 MAR – The Namibia Training Authority (NTA) on Tuesday signed apprenticeship funding agreements with several employers.
The agreements are part of work-integrated learning in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system, which is based on trainees enrolling at vocational training institutions where theoretical and practical training is supplemented with offsite practical exposure as part of the job attachment programme.
The 16 employers who signed the agreement include Etuna Guesthouse and Tours; Xwama Cultural Village, Forklift and Allied Equipment; Namport; Telecom Namibia; and Transworld Cargo.
NTA Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jerry Beukes said during the signing ceremony in the capital the pilot project is a key sub-component of work-integrated learning in Namibian workplaces to boost access to equitable and high quality TVET opportunities for young people wishing to embark on technical and vocational career paths.
Beukes said a key component of the project is that apprentices would be employed by a company and would sign individual contracts setting out the conditions of their employment.
This, he explained, would include apprentices receiving remuneration according to a regulated minimum allowance, and that the employer should be approved by the NTA to register apprentices.
“The NTA through the Vocational Education and Training Levy, is to subsidise the apprenticeship training of all together 250 candidates over the next three years, at an estimated cost of about N.dollars 27.5 million,” Beukes stated.
With the exception of exempted organisations, all employers operating within the borders of Namibia with estimated annual payroll of N.dollars 1 million or above for each financial year from 01 April 2014 are required to register with the NTA and pay the levy.
Meanwhile, in a speech read on his behalf, Namport CEO Bisey /Uirab said the project is an opportunity to provide selected candidates with opportunities to attain work-integrated learning.
/Uirab urged Namibians to consider vocational training as critical training required by various sectors of the economy.
“Vocational training should not be perceived as a subordinate training to formal academic training, but an equivalent training for the purpose of skills supply in the labour market of various economic industries in the country,” he said.

NAMPA