Launch of the national skills competition

The national skills competition launched its official opening at the Namibia Training Authority (NTA) last week.
Helene Bam
Michelline Nawatises





World Skills is the global organisation for skills excellence and development. Through the international co-operation and development amongst industry leaders, government, organisations, and tertiary institutions, they promote the need for skilled professionals through grass-roots community projects, skill competitions, and knowledge exchange.

Their mission is to raise the profile and recognition of skilled people and to show how important skills are in achieving economic growth, personal success and most importantly raise awareness among the youth in order for them to create their own success.

The last World Skills Competition took place in Abu Dhabi last year. The next competition will be held in Russia on the 22th of August, 2019 in the city of Kazan. Mr Sens Shoolongo, manager of the World Skills Namibia says that the team gained a lot of experience through their participation in Abu Dhabi. “I believe that we are now in a position where we have to create quality events for the Namibian nation as well,” he said.

The National Skills Competition is a non-political organisation. The second National Skills Competition is to take place from the 17 to 22 of September 2018 at the Ramatex complex.

Jerry Beukes, the chief executive officer of World Skills Namibia, says “the national skills competition will not only allow technical individuals to test their skills proficiency against their peers but it will also serve as a platform from which to select Namibia’s competitors to represent the country”.

The second stage of the competition will feature 12 occupational skills areas, namely: automotive technology; bricklaying; carpentry; cooking; electrical installations; joinery; hairdressing, refrigeration and air conditioning; plumbing and heating; restaurant services; wall and floor tiling, and welding. Only 12 competitors will be chosen out of 150 competitors to represent Namibia in Russia.

Namibia is one of six African countries that is a member of World Skills International. Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Tunisia and Zambia are the other African countries that are part of this organisation.

The competition is open to public and private training institutions, employers, industry leaders as well as private candidates. To qualify, interested parties must first compete a selection process that will be held on 27 and 28 April at selected training institutions. In order to give an equal opportunity to all skilled enthusiasts, there shall be no age restrictions.