WINDHOEK – Seventy-four students who completed various training courses offered by the Women at Work Training Centre received their certificates and diplomas at the graduation ceremony held last Friday. The 74 students include 70 Home Management students and four Cleaning and Hospitality students.
The Women at Work Training Centre aims to combat unemployment amongst Namibian women by equipping them with skills in home management, cleaning and hospitality, needlework and cooking amongst others.
“Bank Windhoek has been supporting the Women at Work Training Centre for a number of years, as we believe that the centre is making a difference in the lives of the many single mothers who have to support their families on a meager to non-existent income and the hundreds of young women who drop out of school every year. By supporting Women at Work, we are in fact, assisting in empowering women who are still vulnerable in our communities,” said Elzita Beukes, Communication Practitioner: Stakeholder Engagement at Bank Windhoek.
“Few institutions offer these women the opportunity to equip themselves with skills to enter the formal working sector. This organisation, however, equips them with quality education, supported by practical learning and assessment of their work. By maintaining and supporting this standard of training, we are in fact starting a chain reaction, whereby the next generation will be better prepared to build an economically stable Namibia. Mothers will ensure their knowledge and skills are passed on to their children, thus encouraging their communities to strive for a better education,” Beukes added.
Joy Howes, Office Manager in Charge of the Employment Bureau at Women at Work said: “Women at Work assist as many of these trained students by searching and placing them in the workforce. Trying to find the right student for the right employer is not easy, but is very rewarding. The joy and relief on their faces makes it all worth it. Equally, we know we are providing a service that is beneficial to the employer as well.”
Howes added: “It is wonderful to see Namibian women begin to dream and discover that they can take their destiny in their own hands and, that by working hard, they can obtain better living conditions for their families. These women are grabbing the opportunities offered to them by participating in the versatile courses offered by Women at Work Training Centre. Education and training still remain the most important tools to ensure social and economic growth and thus the transformation of Namibia.”
The guest speaker, Dr Magda Robalo, Head of the World Health Organisation in Namibia, gave her time to motivate and encourage students. She emphasised the importance of being punctual, loyal and of working hard. She also stressed the importance of communication and they continuing their studies.
The Women at Work Training Centre is an institution not for gain and is registered as a welfare organisation
By Staff Reporter