Windhoek
University of Science and Technology (NUST) vice-chancellor, Professor Tjama Tjivikua, says there is a need to train instructors in technical education didactics for the effective transfer of skills.
Tjivikua, who made the remarks last week during a Vocational Education and Training (VET) Development symposium, said NUST has been leading instructor training since 2001 and partnered with Namibia Training Authority (NTA) in 2012 to meet this need.
VET experts from 16 countries across the globe gathered at NUST to exchange views on vocational education matters and establish networks which will result in increased opportunities for research and collaboration between VET practitioners in Sub-Sahara Africa.
Tjivikua said the symposium is very timely as Namibia has recently established the VET levy (Government Gazette No. 6 of January 2014), through the Vocational Education and Training Act No. 1 of 2008.
The introduction of the VET levy enhances the involvement of the private sector in the VET system by encouraging industry to willingly – and with incentives – participate in the training and development of their workforce.
Tjivikua explained that by carefully crafting three VET qualifications for trainers, NUST – through the technical education section in the department of education and languages – is able to provide the pre-service and in-service VET practitioners with competencies that will enable them to deliver, maintain and manage instructional activities within accredited Vocational Training Centres (VTCs) in a goal-directed manner.
Further, he said the delivery and assessment methods employed in the transfer of these qualifications are founded on the Competency Based Education Training (CBET) system, which is also the Namibian government’s approved training system for VTCs.
According to him, the trainer qualifications on certificate and higher certificate levels are aimed specifically at competencies (knowledge, skills and attitudes) that will enable vocational instructors to undertake their essential and demanding teaching, training and assessment tasks within the context of the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).