Ongwediva
Oshikuku Constituency Councillor Modestus Amutse says the lack of fully fledged vocational training centres in most of parts of the country has created a serious knowledge gap that hampers the industrialisation of the country.
Amutse said this has also contributed to a high rate of unemployment, because a large percentage of the population lacks the knowledge and skills needed to capitalise on available economic opportunities.
He was speaking at Oshikuku Combined School, where he handed over awards to best performing learners last week. In handing over the awards, Amutse stressed that transforming Namibia into an industrialised country requires that government makes a deliberate effort to spread specialised vocational training throughout all fourteen regions.
He noted that existing vocational training opportunities are very limited, compared to the demand, while the curriculum of the vocational training centres needs to be aligned to the country’s Vision 2030 objectives.
Government should be prepared to increase spending on setting up new vocational training centres and improveing existing ones to enable the country realise its goals and objectives, he said. Amutse stressed that the skills gap has put the county in a situation where it lacks the means to reduce its dependency on foreign expertise and imported consumer products.
He noted, though, that the transformation of the Polytechnic of Namibia into a University of Science and Technology and the establishment of the University of Namibia’s Ongwediva Faculty of Engineering should be appreciated by all as steps in the right direction.
Amutse further cautioned that the relatively high rate of school dropouts also contributes immensely to the high unemployment rate and poverty among Namibians. He thus encouraged parents to send their children to school and to provide them with the support they need in order to prepare today’s children for a better future.
Since he became constituency councillor Amutse has been sponsoring trophies and cash prizes to best performing learners at schools in his constituency. Last week’s awards were among the prizes he sponsored to encourage effective learning and teaching in the region.