By Clemence Tashaya
EENHANA – Petrus Shikongo, a Grade 12 learner from Okelemba Combined School, says he is passionate about his education, especially Mathematics and Science.
“Interestingly, most of my school mates used to shun Mathematics, but after this career fair, some of them will realise that Mathematics is an essential subject needed in most jobs in Namibia. This is excellent for us because we are now armed with necessary information and this will minimise friction as we get into the labour market with the required knowledge,” he says. The Ohangwena Education Directorate hosted a career Fair last week with the aim of exposing the region’s youths, mostly Grade 10 and Grade 12 learners to different career paths.
Different companies and government ministries gave presentations that highly captivated the youths and learners. Sergeant Nghinyengulwa Toivo of the Ohangwena Police explained to the learners wishing eventually to join the Police Force that “patience is important, because you need to go through the ranks to get to the top and most of the youths quit after two years because they are not at the top”. The officer further informed the learners, that the force does have fair benefits and working conditions like any other company and does not employ convicts.
The Spokesperson of the 2014 Ohangwena Career Fair, Lydia Ndimlunde, said the event has been aiming at providing career guidance to current and prospective learners and students, forging ties with both the public and private sector and exposing them to different careers offered by different institutions in Namibia. The Fair, running in its eighth year, has been serving as an information sharing as well as recruitment opportunity for learners in the region. “We would like to thank all stakeholders who made this event a success. We tried to bring some organisations and students together to be fully equipped with labour market information, for instance knowing pre-requisite subjects for a certain job,” she explained
“If you want to become a Mining Engineer or an Artisans, then the Namibian Institute of Mining and Technology (NIMT) is here for you,” said the NIMT Tsumeb Principal, Matthews Jason Elao. The NIMT Principal reminded learners that vocational education and training can maximise on one’s talent by identifying and developing the skills one requires to be able to perform particular tasks. “Good examples of vocational careers are Joinery and Carpentry from one of our NIMT centres. The demand for change in furniture styles is rising with each passing day. A visit to such furniture shops like Furnmart, Ok Furniture and Beares to mention a few, will show the nature and amount of talent coming from vocational training institutions. The price tag on the furniture is enough evidence that one can sustain a living from a career in Joinery and Carpentry. The situation applies to all trades and subjects,” he said
More than ten companies including the Ministry of Defence, the Anti-Corruption Commission, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare and many other private companies from the north participated in the Fair
Speaking on the sidelines of the event, a Psychologist from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Kudzai Chipandamira, applauded the overwhelming representation of organisations and learners from most of the schools in Ohangwena region. “The event is very important and imperative for learners who are Namibia’s future labour force. It is very vital for the learners to have sound career decisions. We are actually happy about this year’s event because organisations and institutions co-operated and many learners visited our stand,” she said
Chipandamira also advised school mates to work hard, as success does not come overnight and hard work is required to make it through life and the top thereof. “In conclusion, I have two quotes that l would like to share with you. It is your attitude and not your aptitude that will determine your altitude. If you were educated yesterday but you do not study today, you will be a fool tomorrow.”
A large number of learners, residents and prospective job seekers turned up at this year’s event. The career fair which saw hundreds of learners and youths from various schools in the region attending was sponsored by the Ministry of Education.