Walvis Bay

Namibia, according to Vision 2030, will transition into an industrialised and globally competitive country offering equal opportunity and realising its maximum growth potential in a sustainable manner, with improved quality of life for all Namibians.

However, to achieve this ambitious goal Namibia needs to develop its human capacity and build institutional capacity to absorb the labour force necessary to meet the demands of the economy and address skills shortages across all industries.

This was said by Chief Executive Officer of the Namibian Ports Authority Bisey /Uirab during Namport’s first ever bursary day held at Walvis Bay last Tuesday. About 25 candidates, who were awarded bursaries and internships, were taken on a tour of the port facilities to gain first-hand experience of how the port conducts its day-to-day operations.

The move was also intended to show them what they can expect when returning after studies to take up job opportunities and attachments with the company. The students received funding to undertake studies in the fields of engineering, law, logistics, finance, as well as vocational education and training.

Namport has invested about N$28.6 million in the past six years in 30 bursaries and scholarships, including cadetships and apprenticeship schemes for Namibians. All these schemes are aimed at complementing government efforts in national skills development.

According to /Uirab, there is one seemingly common strategic intervention in all these developmental imperatives and this relates to harnessing the required human capacity and critical skills required for the future.

He said as a State-owned enterprise (SOE), Namport is a key role player in the transport and logistics industry in Namibia and sub-Saharan Africa and also aims to contribute to the achievement of both the Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional goals, as well as Namibia’s national developmental goals, as encapsulated in the National Development Plan (NDP4), Vision 2030 and the Harambee Prosperity Plan.

“The maritime sector is no exception in this respect. In order to support the economic growth of the country through the development of human resources of the country, Namport has developed a strategic human resources plan aimed at supporting and addressing ‘the people element’.

“The aim is to develop and capacitate our human capital to have the required capacity reservoir to drive Namport and the country to our envisaged national goals of becoming a logistic hub and an industrialised country,” /Uirab elaborated.

/Uirab then explained that Namport has over the past two years accelerated the strategy through various programmes such as the capacity building programme, which focuses on skills enhancement of marine officers (pilots and engineers) and operational equipment operators.

“Our people play an important role in our business. For this reason, we’ve invested substantial resources in the development and capacity building of our staff and prospective future employees over the past years,” he said.