20 January 2021
The Training-of-Trainers (ToT) aspect is a very important intervention in arresting some of those gaps within our country’s existing TVET model and arrangements. This was said by the NTA’s newly-appointed General Manager: TVET Regulations, Mr. Tobias Nambala, when he addressed a virtual planning workshop organised by the Promotion of Vocational Education and Training (ProVET) Project.
Highlighting that Namibia was not alone in being confronted by the challenge of skills shortages amongst the trainer fraternity, Nambala pointed out the growing appreciation that skills shortages threatened economic growth, contributed to higher inflation and interest rates, and limited productivity. “ Indeed, this is global phenomenon for both developed or developing economies, and the need for ongoing, sustained and large-scale investment in human capital development, is an undeniable fact”, he stressed. “Allow me to thank our development partners, for the continued support and partnership to our skills enhancement and capacity building agenda, of which the capacitation of our TVET trainers is an important component”, he added.
Meanwhile, Nambala has expressed hope that his arrival at the NTA will usher in renewed impetus to the organisation’s ongoing regulatory work. “The TVET Regulation Department is looking forward to the work that lies ahead of us in implementing all regulatory provisions, without fear or favour. It is important that we provide all necessary support to the important aspects of training provider registration, quality unit standard and qualification development and valid and reliable assessment products. But, more importantly, that we do so in a way that justifies the funding and effort that goes into it”, he explained.
Nambala joins the NTA from the Namibian Maritime Fisheries Institute (NAMFI) – Namibia’s premier training institution for all seagoing personnel. “Having been actively involved for more than a decade in honing those scientific and technical skills Namibians need to qualify as mariners in the form of captains, chief ship engineers and others, I can say with all confidence today that being part of the NTA is a new and exciting chapter in my career journey, because it allows me an opportunity to continue contributing to the noble task of addressing our country’s skills shortages and bridging the gaps that still exist in our fast-growing and ever-evolving TVET sector”, he shared..