By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
With only N$33 in her bank account some seven years ago, she took on the noble challenge to establish a Namibian college specializing in local and foreign languages as well as translations, aimed at the flourishing tourism industry.
Today Lingua College is a de facto and recognized educational entity in the tourism and education sectors of the country.
The woman behind the project is Ingrid Mettler, a former teacher at Jan Jonker Afrikaner Secondary School in Katutura.
“It was a risk I just had to take after thorough research in international management of languages as part of my studies via a French university with a higher specialized degree in languages,” Mettler said in an interview.
The research she single-handedly did included surveys, questionnaires and interviews with important stakeholders such as the hospitality industry in the tourist sector.
“In retrospect, in 2002 I used the N$33 I had in my bank account to place an advertisement in a local paper. The response I received then was overwhelming.
I started the first French language classes and basic computer skills in my tiny flat with eighteen enthusiastic students, but the number grew so quickly, I had to find a bigger venue in which to conduct the classes,” she recalled.
Her mother’s home was the answer to her accommodation problems for the next three years.
“Because of the demand for the courses aimed at the tourism sector more students enrolled yearly. With more than 400 students at present and the growth of the staff, we were forced to erect the building we are currently operating from. What was encouraging is the fact that this year we received formal recognition and accreditation from the Namibia Qualification Authority,” Mettler said.
She and her husband Leon run the college –
that was built in 2005 at a cost of N$3 million and with a staff component of 20 – as managing directors for the past five years.
“Most of our students come from the north and the capital and enroll for the tourism courses, which offer potential job opportunities over a wide spectrum. The diploma courses cover accounting, business administration, marketing, IT, tourism, translations and languages. Many of our students have already been offered in-service training jobs,” she said proudly.
According to the young woman who hails from a family of educationalists, the next move would be to upgrade the courses to university level.
“Naturally we are competing with other educational institutions and have thus far survived due to high quality courses and presentations, thanks to the many external moderators we often make use of.
Our only problem is to accommodate our many students coming from the north. We are now looking at the possibility of establishing a hostel,” she concluded.