WINDHOEK - The Bank of Namibia (BoN) will host its 19th annual symposium today at the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre. This year’s Symposium will be held under the theme “Creating Employment Through Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Namibia.”

A statement issued by BoN Deputy Director for Corporate Communications Kazembire Zemburuka says the purpose of the symposium is to focus on the possible benefits and disadvantages of different models of TVET in Namibia. 

Hosting of the annual symposium has been part of the reserve bank’s calendar since 1998, bringing together experts, international and local policy makers, academics, and relevant stakeholders to engage and make recommendations on various areas of national development in line with aspirations of Vision 2030, National Development Plans (NDPs) and Harambee Prosperity Plan (HPP).

This year’s theme is aligned to the social progression pillar of the Harambee Prosperity Plan, which recognises TVET as a source of skills, knowledge and technology needed to drive productivity in knowledge-based and transitional societies in the 21 st century. 

TVET is further accorded a high premium by the HPP, because of its potential to equip citizens with job/work-ready skills and for its potential to deal with the global challenges of youth employability and unemployment.
The symposium will therefore set out some potential policy options and identify the possible benefits and disadvantages of different models of TVET. 

It will further provide the opportunity to reflect on the strategic approach that could improve education and training and better support economic growth.

To unpack the potential of TVET in supporting economic growth, the bank invited speakers to present at the symposium. These include Richwell Lukonga, chief operations officer for the Namibia Training Authority (NTA), who is expected to provide an overview of the current vocational training in Namibia, Tracy Ferrier, an independent international consultant who will present a paper titled “International experiences on TVET: Lessons and Policy Options for Namibia”, as well as Alpheas Shindi, a competence-based education and training (CBET) expert, who is scheduled to present a paper on “Promoting Vocational Education and Training in SMEs in Namibia”.

The presentations will be followed by discussions with the expected 250 stakeholders in attendance.