The Namibia Training Authority (NTA) is calling for eligible employers to submit applications for the vocational education and training (VET) levy employer-training grant (ETG).
On Monday, the general manager of the National Training Fund, Virginia Kaimu, encouraged employers to prepare and submit claims for the grant for the 2020/21 financial year before the statutory deadline of 1 May 2021.
Kaimu clarified that employers may claim within 31 days after the end of the NTA’s financial year, which is 31 March every year, for up to 50% of levies paid.
“This is on condition that they submit applications, which contain evidence of training implemented and the actual cost thereof. A further condition is that an employer’s levies are paid for the full financial year and that no interest or penalties are outstanding,” she explained.
She added that as per the ETG policy statements, eligible costs include training facilitator costs for the duration of the training, training materials used in the training process, assessment and certification costs – and subsistence and travelling allowance costs, as well as expenses for both the facilitator and the trainees.
Employers who fail to submit applications within the regulated 30-day period will forfeit grants.
“Any such unclaimed grants will be transferred to the VET levy key priority grant (KPG) funding allocation, where such funds are to be utilised towards strategic training interventions,” stated Kaimu.
She said a lack of supporting evidence accompanying ETG applications has hampered the administration and subsequent disbursement thereof over past claim cycles. She, therefore, urged employers to ensure all the required documentation is submitted accordingly. The VET levy programme is aimed at refocusing the country’s training system and resources on meeting national socio-economic development needs.
All Namibian registered employers with an annual payroll of N$1 million or more are required to register and pay 1% of the value of their actual annual payroll as VET levy to the NTA’s national training fund monthly.