Problem:
With a per capita income of USD 7,922 (Economist Intelligence Unit, EIU 2014), Namibia is one of the middle-income countries, but is characterised by significant disparities. Namibia has experienced stable economic growth in recent years, and the EIU also forecasts stable growth of around 5% for the coming years. Despite this economic growth, unemployment is officially high at 27.4% (women: 31.8%, men: 22.9%) and there is a major shortage of skilled labour. Youth unemployment is particularly high. Young women are particularly affected at 49.2% compared to young men (36.1%). The vocational training system is still being developed. In many sectors, the existing requirement for professionally qualified experts cannot be met by the state and private vocational training systems.
Project objective:
The project supports the improvement of the framework conditions for technical and vocational education and training in Namibia. Various actors in Namibia's vocational education and training system have improved their range of services. Cooperation between VET stakeholders and the private sector has improved. The "learning and working task" method is familiar to selected vocational school teachers from the automotive department and is being applied.
Measures/methodological implementation:
A central component of the 2nd phase of the project are training units for 10 teachers from the Vocational Training Centres (Car Mechanics), which build on each other to teach the "learning and work tasks" method. The training sessions take place both in Namibia and in Bremen. The implementation of what has been learnt is supported and promoted through supervision and coaching of the participants. In addition, quality testing and assurance of the newly developed national training standards for vehicle mechanics takes place. Partnerships between VTCs and vocational schools in Bremen are also being initiated.
Target groups:
The target group are young people who are looking for work, marginally qualified or underemployed, or young people who are in employment and in need of qualification. Intermediaries are decision-makers and stakeholders from the Namibian vocational training sector.
Partner structure:
The project is based on a state partnership between Bremen and Namibia. It is politically supported by the Hanseatic City of Bremen and the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) and supported by specialised vocational training institutions in both countries. The relevant specialist partners are the Vocational Training Centres on the Namibian side and the Institute of Technology and Education (ITB) on the Bremen side.
Further information on the predecessor project can be found in the factsheet.