Staff Reporter
Windhoek-The seven Namibian competitors in the upcoming WorldSkills Competition in Abu Dhabi are now undergoing extensive practical training in compliance with international WorldSkills Vocational Education and Training (VET) standards.
Each competitor has been assigned a specialised expert in her/his respective field of trade to prepare them for the competition and to ensure that they are on par with international requirements for this competition.
Early last month, the experts assigned to train Namibia’s seven Competitors at the 2017 WorldSkills Competition actively attended an Access Training session in Windhoek in compliance with international standards.
From about 50 skill areas at this year’s competition, Namibia will compete in seven skills areas, namely, bricklaying, carpentry, cooking, electrical installations, joinery, plumbing & heating and wall and floor Tiling.
The seven competitors in these skills were selected through the National Skills Competition held at Ramatex in Windhoek last September. The competition will give Namibian competitors, experts (instructors/trainers) and officials the much-needed exposure to world-class competency standards and training practices in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy. It will also provide networking and collaborative opportunities with international counterparts.
WorldSkills Namibia encourages all Namibian youths, 22-years-old and below, not to miss the next edition to learn more about the competitors and how they can become future participants.
Namibia is a member of WorldSkills International (WSI) through the Namibia Training Authority (NTA). WSI is a non-political organisation that promotes skills excellence through the staging of bi-annual international skills competitions and establishing networking and sharing platforms for members to learn from and with each other.
The bi-annual competitions also provide a means of exchange and comparison of competency standards in the industrial trades and service sectors of the global economy.
Its mission is to promote, through the corporative actions of members, a worldwide awareness of the essential contribution that skills and high standards of competence make to the achievement of economic success and individual achievement.
Through competition held bi-annually, WSI attempts to raise awareness about opportunities that exist in skilled professions and encourage young people to explore such opportunities.
The Namibia Training Authority (NTA), through its WorldSkills Namibia Secretariat, staged Namibia’s successful, first ever National Skills Competition (NSC) from the 14 to 17 September 2016 at the Ramatex Complex in the capital.
The NSC addressed a multitude of objectives, including the negative perception of TVET in Namibia and encouraging more young Namibians to take up technical and vocational career paths.
Furthermore, the event provided an opportunity for industry and the business community to share opportunities that are available for the sector and how the sector can maximally contribute to economic development as articulated in the Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).
Below is the team of competitors to represent Namibia at the 44th WorldSkills Competition (WSC) which will take place in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates from 14 – 19 October 2017. Over 70 WorldSkills International member countries are expected to take part in the competition.