The Bank of Namibia every year, since 1998, hosts a one-day Symposium. The aim of this Symposium is to bring together experts in the field of economics (internationally and locally) to exchange views on various issues pertaining to the Namibian economy. The theme for this year’s Annual Symposium is:
Theme:
Creating employment through technical vocational education and training in Namibia
There is a recognition that technical vocational education and training (TVET) is a source of skills, knowledge and technology needed to drive productivity and economic transformation. Empirical evidence shows that TVET has a positive effect on economic growth. It contributes to reduction in poverty, crime rate, and unemployment rate. Individuals who have acquired vocational education and training and entering the market with proper industry relevant skills, find it much easier to be productive in the economy, thereby increasing the country’s employment and promoting economic growth.
The latest statistics released by the National Statistics Agency (NSA) show that youth unemployment (ages 15 – 34 years) is at 43.4 percent for 2016. The performance of the grade 10 and 12 learners has remained consistently poor over the years with most pupils ending up on the streets and only a handful proceeding to tertiary education. At the end of 2017, only 39.3 percent of grade 12 pupils qualified for tertiary education, while 55.3 percent of pupils failed grade 10. Therefore, Namibia needs to look into avenues that can help reduce youth unemployment and improve economic growth through entrepreneurial vocational and technical training. Emphasizing VET alone is not enough and it has to be supplemented with a focus on entrepreneurship as well. This is important in assisting the youth to acquire skills needed in a knowledge based economy. The number of formal jobs available is insufficient to employ all youth entering the labour force and to offer prospects of decent wages.
It is against this backdrop, that this envisaged symposium will provide a platform which will contribute to making entrepreneurial technical skills training a success and support economic growth.
The following topics will be the heart of this year’s symposium:
Paper 1: Overview of the current technical vocational training in Namibia
Paper 2: International experience on technical vocational education and training: Lessons and policy options for Namibia
Paper 3: Promoting Technical Vocational Education and Training in small and medium enterprises in Namibia: Strategies and Policy Options