Hyphen Hydrogen Energy (Hyphen) has launched the Hyphen Hydrogen Energy Skills Census, which it describes as a groundbreaking initiative supporting Namibia’s first large-scale green hydrogen project. This census allows Namibians to submit their skills information and upload relevant documents to be included in a comprehensive job- seekers database.

The Hyphen Green Hydrogen project in southern Namibia is expected to create approximately 15 000 jobs during construction and 3 000 permanent positions once operational. By conducting this skills census, Hyphen aims to map and analyse Namibia’s existing expertise, helping to identify local talent and assess workforce readiness for the project. The insights gained will be instrumental in determining necessary training, upskilling, and competency development programmes to ensure Namibians are fully- equipped to participate in this transformative industry.

Hyphen invites all Namibians to participate and help shape the future of green hydrogen in Namibia. As such, the skills census is vital in enhancing Namibians’ employability within the green hydrogen sector. All Namibians are invited to participate by completing the census form via the provided QR code. Participants may submit their information anonymously, contributing to a broader understanding of the country’s skills landscape, or upload their details to be included in the Hyphen job-seekers’ database. Hyphen guarantees that all submitted information will be handled securely, ensuring data privacy and protection.

Martin Wilkinson, Senior Economic Development Manager for Training and Development at Hyphen, emphasised the importance of this initiative, stating: “The Skills’ Census is a crucial element of the National Skills Audit conducted as part of Hyphen’s socio-economic development baseline studies. It aims to assess the current skills’ capacities within the country in relation to the specific skills’ requirements of the Hyphen project. This audit will identify skills’ gaps necessary for the construction and operation of the project, highlighting key skills requirements. In turn, we will develop tailored training programmes to address these gaps, to empower and employ as many Namibians as possible.”