It takes complete selflessness and commitment to the welfare of humanity, for one to abandon the joys that come with rising up the corporate ladder in the private sector, for a job in the civil service, where even though professional growth is guaranteed, it often comes at a snail’s pace.
For Lazarus Wilheikkie, a multi-media designer at the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT), returning from film school and taking up this position was a no-brainer.
So effortless was this decision, that since he walked into the office of this government ministry in May 2016, he has never looked back but kept his eyes on the prize and his ear to the ground.
“The civil service is a whole university of its own kind. Here, one learns something new every day because of the constant interactions with people from all walks of life who harbour different expertise. The job satisfaction and professional growth that comes are additional bonuses,” Wilheikkie said.
He is quick to reveal that working for the civil service was never his dream and like many young people in his field, he aspired to land a lucrative job at some parastatal or better yet join the fray in the dog-eat-dog world of advertising, as an agency executive.
“But due to the fact that media industry is rather small in our country, I had to settle for my current job and I have no regrets whatsoever,” he maintained.
…man for all seasons
Just to put into perspective the prowess of the man, Wilheikkie holds a Diploma in Visual Arts and New Media Design from the College of the Arts, obtained in 2005.
He then proceeded to acquire a Bachelor’s degree in Motion Picture Medium with specialisation in Visual Effects from AFDA in Johannesburg, South Africa. This, before taking it a notch further by getting an Advanced Diploma in Multi-Media Design and Production in the same field from City Varsity, also in South Africa.
“I then returned to Namibia to do my internship at TBWA, an advertising agency, from January to March in 2010. In 2011, I joined The Win-Win Group, another advertising agency where I served for three months before getting another offer as the founding designer at The Villager newspaper,” Wilheikkie said, visibly impressed with his impressive resume.
He further revealed that after The Villager, he joined the Institute of Information Technology (IIT) entity – from 2012 to 2016, where he served as a multi-media designer and web developer before finding his way into the civil service. As if that is not enough, Wilheikkie also served as a member on the board of the National Arts Council of Namibia (NACN) from 2016 to the end of his term in 2018.
As part of his current job, he is primarily tasked with the development of corporate identity material for a government project, agencies, and departments.
“This includes the development of branding materials for initiatives such as independence celebrations, exhibitions, summits, business expos and being responsible for the publication and promotional materials,” he reveals.
Queried as to which of his exploits at the ministry is he proudest of, Wilheikkie listed his involvement in the ICT Summit as well as the Dubai World Expo as noteworthy. He further singled out involvement in the 2021 World Press Freedom Day as having exposed him to designers from across the world, especially France.
“I worked with designers from Paris, where I was responsible for taking some of their work and giving them a Namibian look and feel,” he reminisced.
Another memorable event for which he is grateful to the government is the opportunity he was given to pursue an advanced certificate in web design/development, in India from 2017 to 2018.
Highs and lows
Wilheikkie remains a big fan of the structures within government and how the system works, as he says, it paves the way for imparting knowledge from department to department.
“In my position especially, I get to deal with people from various departments and agencies and in so doing, I get to know what each division is responsible for.
The Omusati region native further denounced the perception that civil servants are less productive than their counterparts in the private sector and praised the government for the numerous performance assessment methods that are now keeping the employees on their toes.
Having said that, it is clear as daylight that Wilheikkie is not planning to leave the civil service anytime soon.
“I will stay and serve for as long as I can, with the aim of ensuring that I continue to grow professionally,” he concluded.