Lahja Nashuuta

In the face of adversity in the form of perennial droughts, high unemployment, malnutrition and limited business prospects, the Khorixas Vocational Training Centre is seen as a beacon of hope by many in Kunene, a region considered among the poorest in Namibia.

Due to a short supply of qualified artisans, it is great news for the Kunene region when a new Khorixas VTC finally opens its doors.

Registrations and applications for different courses kicked off last week, with officials from the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) going on a serious campaign to promote what their newest centre has on display. 

Sebastian !Gobs, the Khorixas constituency councillor, expressed his optimism that the centre will present opportunities to the youth, especially those who could not attain the required points to be admitted to institutions of higher learning.

He asserted that in a community such as Khorixas, one of the poorest communities in the region, having a VTC at their doorsteps is priceless.

“We don’t take lightly that we are changing the course of these young people’s lives, as well as the lives of their families. We are also contributing to reducing unemployment – not only in our immediate community, but for the whole region,” !Gobs said.

He further said, “We have lots of small miners in the region, and there is a need to professionalise this small mining industry to position it as one of the supporting pillars of the economy. Those miners need to be equipped with required skills such as mineral value addition, mineral recovery and mineral exploration”.

It will open the door for a myriad of study opportunities for thousands of young people to practice various skills and obtain qualifications in areas such as plumbing, carpentry, painting, bricklaying and electrical work.

Hope 

Scott Kapi, a small-scale miner in Arizona village in Sesfontein constituency, has welcomed the institution with open arms and vigour.

He said most of those who could not afford enrolment elsewhere in cities like Windhoek, where the living cost is high, or even in Okakarara due to a lack of accommodation, can now access the same services in their own region.

“I really want to commend the government for bringing the training centre closer to the community. We have a lot of youth who  are engaged in small-scale mining, small-scale farmers and horticulture farmers without proper education, and we hope that by bringing the training centre to Khorixas, young people will be able to acquire the necessary skills in their areas of interest,” he said.

He urged the government to consider students from marginalised communities such as Ovatue, Ovazemba, Ovatjimba and Ovahimba, who never went through formal school and do not meet the admission requirements, but have the talent and energy to pursue fields like small-scale farming and mining, to at least gain basic knowledge.

Kapi also hopes the centre will provide tailor-made information to address the knowledge gap on the socio-economic activities in the region.

“We have talents among those tribes who are currently on the ground – whether farming or mining – but these people lack formal education and technical skills, and knowledge such as smart agriculture or value addition to minerals,” he said.

Seemingly over the moon, Belinda Garises also voiced gratitude, which was visible on her face.

“I just want to express gratitude to the government for bringing the training centre to our town. After completing high school, I have been sitting at home for almost three years with no prospects of furthering my education. Once our VTC opens, I will grab the opportunity so that I can better my life,” she said.

 Garises told New Era that she could not afford to travel to Windhoek and other towns to enrol at institutions of higher learning, as her mother, a volunteer at a community garden in Fransfontein, could not afford to pay for her registration and accommodation. Fransfontein is some 26 kilometres east of Khorixas.

There, this publication met Helency Somses, who has been one of the workers at the Fransfontein community garden since 2022.

The garden was established with assistance from the Environmental Investment Fund through the International Renewable Energy Agency (IREMA) project, and has a total of 10 community members employed.

Somses said although the garden assists many people directly and indirectly in the Fransfontein area, with her paltry salary, she could not afford to enrol her son at institutions far from Khorixas.  Hence, she appreciates the government for bringing a vocational training centre to Khorixas.

“We appreciate the assistance we received from the government in setting up this garden, and it really helps the community, especially during the harvesting period, because people get to buy vegetables at a cheaper price.Those who do not have money used to come work and, in return, get vegetables to take home. However, the garden is not really making a lot of profit. Hence, our salary is not that good to register our children elsewhere,” she said. 

Somses urged the centre to introduce short courses for garden workers, as most of them lack skills.

“We are currently receiving training assistance from a company called One Stone, but that is not sufficient. The VTC can perhaps introduce evening classes for all of us to attend to get [a] qualification so we can also be employable elsewhere,” she said.

The VTC is part of NTA’s devotion to providing vocational training centres to all 14 regions as part of its Technical and Vocational Education and Training, Transformation and Expansion blueprint. Constructed at the cost of around N$700 million, the VTC is the first higher-learning institution in the region. -lnashuuta@gmail.com