Wilhelmina Iimene
The Namibia Institute of Public Administration and Management launched three accredited qualifications yesterday.
NIPAM was successfully accredited by the Namibia Qualifications Authority (NQA) in December 2021.
It launched a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Sector Management (NQF level eight) and a Certificate in Public Sector Management, offered for NQF levels six and seven.
The newly launched qualifications are meant for executive directors, chief regional officers, operational chiefs and other officials in the middle, senior and executive levels to expose themselves to the best practices in public policy and its implementation.
NIPAM, being a public sector training institution, has a key role to play in public sector capacity building through training, research and provision of consultancy services. Secretary to Cabinet and chairperson of the NIPAM governing council George Simataa said with the launching of these new offerings to the market, has positioned NIPAM as a dynamic and most competitive training provider that will gradually improve the performance of the service delivery of the public service and other interested people in the country.
Speaking at the launch, Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila said the government seeks to build capacity in the public service through in-service training and academic training of public service staff to improve staff competency and seeks to position public service to be an employer of choice by ensuring a conducive working environment for the civil servants.
She said it is indeed pleasing to know that NIPAM has instituted efforts to have its training programme accredited, and it will ensure that those who go through the institution’s programmes are aided to make career advances in the public sector and elsewhere.
“There is, thus, a need for continuous improvement of NIPAM’s qualification offerings to cater for the diverse demand for training in the market, and we expect NIPAM to accredit more qualifications in various other levels, guided by the competency framework of the public sector,” she said.
She commends the NIPAM governing council and management for developing the new set of accredited qualifications.
“I wish to encourage the target market to enrol themselves for these qualifications to improve public service delivery,” Kuugongwelwa-Amadhila said. She also said although there have been significant enrolments since independence, the public sector is still faced with limited skills for general managerial positions, in the areas of leadership management, finance and project management.
The training offered by NIPAM will, therefore, address this inadequate capacity within the public sector.
Ohangwena governor Walde Ndevashiya, a former trainee of NIPAM, gave testimony during the launch, saying the training has helped him to acquire new managerial skills and knowledge that enhanced his way of thinking in addressing socio-economic challenges.
“Currently, I am implementing what I have learned as a way of ploughing back the knowledge and skills acquired from the programme, and I have gained more insight in the area of public finance and good governance,” he said.
He said he believes NIPAM has the capacity to transform the public sector challenges.
“I highly recommend the NIPAM programmes to all public servants who would like to enhance their performance, which will ultimately lead to improved service delivery,” said Ndevashiya.
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Caption (NIPAM):