Hilma Nakanduungile
EENHANA – Some 22 trainees at Eenhana Vocational Training Centre (EVTC) in Ohangwena were conferred national vocational certificates in different technical fields of study yesterday.
This was EVTC’s fourth graduation since 2011. The training centre, which only started with 74 trainees, to date has an allocation of 750 trainees, of whom 365 are in training, while 385 are on job attachment. Trainees graduated in various trades such as plumbing and pipefitting, bricklaying and plastering, office administration, joinery and cabinet making. Speaking at the event the Minister of Higher Education, Training and Innovation, Dr Itah Kandjii-Murangi, urged the graduates to embrace innovation. She noted Namibia needs people who stay well connected to and in tune with the challenges of the community, world market and trends in order to creäte good ideas and bring them to fruition.
“We need to make Namibia an exciting place for innovative people to work, live, play and dream in the most conducive environment for innovative talent,” said Kandjii-Murangi.
She urged graduates to make use of the skills they have acquired during their studies to find solutions to the problems facing their community and the country at large. Moreover, Kandjii-Murangi commended the EVTC for leading the way for other public VTCs in generating income to supplement funding provided to it by the government, such as through renovation of public infrastructure and buildings. Speaking at the event the chairperson of the Ohangwena Regional Council, Erickson Ndawanifa, urged graduates not to wait on the government to create jobs for them, but rather be job creators.
“Do not wait for the government to bring bread on your table. I am told that you are fully equipped, hence go and create employment for yourselves and others,” encouraged Ndawanifa.
The EVTC is growing its menu of courses, with the introduction of a new programme in vehicle collision repair and spraying, which makes it the only public institution in the country that will offer this course. The centre has expanded to six fields of study and enrolls two intakes per year, in January and July respectively.