Pinehas Nakaziko
Windhoek-Just after returning from Abu Dhabi, where he represented Namibia at the 2017 WorldSkills Competition, Tjihimise ‘Bruno’ Karaerua is on Friday jetting off to China to represent Africa at the WorldSkills Champions Trust. In Abu Dhabi, Karaerua represented Namibia in the category of Electrical Installations.
The 21-year-old Karaerua is considered one of the top performing artisans at the Nampower Training Centre in Windhoek. By going to China to represent Africa, Karaerua is taking over from South African Tayla Schou, who represented the continent between 2015 and 2017.
“I am truly honoured, and I embrace this lifetime opportunity which will open doors for personal growth and add value to the entire Namibian TVET sector, a catalyst for our economic development,” says Karaerua.
The WorldSkills Champions is seen as the Olympics of those skilled in various disciplines; where selected young people gather to show skills in their respective fields or trades. After all artisan skills are regarded as the driving force behind the world’s successful industries and economies.
Karaerua will compete against other participants from around the world, namely, Pearl So Ka Yu from China representing Asia, Kieron Kolhmann from USA and Giovanny Sanchez from Colombia, both representing the Americas, Amelia Addis from New Zealand representing the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)/ Oceania, and Jacqueline Tanzer from Austria, representing Europe.
To hone his skills to effectively represent the talented and dedicated community of WorldSkills Champions, Karaerua will leave for Shanghai, China on January 26 where he will meet the rest of the WorldSkills Champions Trust representatives and participate in leadership and media training sessions, forums and conferences.
According to the WorldSkills Namibia marketing and communications coordinator, Kathy Newaka, WorldSkills Champions Trust is a group of former WorldSkills Competitors representing all six continents, working together to help bridge the gap between former WorldSkills competitors (champions) and WorldSkills International beyond the competition.
“The trustees share skills, abilities, and creativity to develop projects and initiatives to improve the world through the power of skills. WSCT serves as the advisory group to WorldSkills International on matters related to continued involvement of global youth in the skills development agenda,” she says.
WorldSkills Namibia Manager, Sens Shoolongo added: “WorldSkills Namibia is very much excited for this opportunity as Bruno’s skills will definitely be crucial in setting up our own National Skills Champions Trust, which will keep our former National Skills and WorldSkills Competitors engaged in our endeavours to make Namibia great through creation of relevant skills”.
Furthermore, to give more opportunity to local young talent, WorldSkills Namibia is preparing to stage the second National Skills Competition in September this year, which will see over 150 competitors from all over Namibia compete in 12 skill categories, with winners expected to represent Namibia at the next WorldSkills Competition in Kazan, Russia, in 2019.
WorldSkills Namibia is a full member of WorldSkills International with a responsibility to promote vocational education and training. Through bi-annual competitions, WSN raises awareness about opportunities that exist in skilled professions and encourages young people to explore such opportunities.