Training centre helps to close the skills gap

Full and part-time training being facilitated by the Namibian-German Centre for Logistics is helping to narrow the skills gap in Namibia’s logistics sector. According to project manager Brighten Simasuku, there is growing interest in logisticsrelated careers. In 2019 the Namibia University of Science and Technology received 2 000 applications from students and was able to accommodate 200 in
full-time courses. The university offers 11 diploma and certificate courses in logistics-related subjects. They include logistics and transport operations, port operations, operations management, supply chain and procurement. There is big demand for courses covering the new Namibian procurement act, he says. “We are also seeing increasing
demand from students who have qualified in other disciplines, such as human resources,” he adds. Renewed funding from international donors has enabled the centre to build a number of computer labs at its campus in Windhoek. The labs will be made available to students studying full or parttime, many of whom do not have access to study facilities or the Internet.
They will cater for students who either do not have the necessary qualifications to be accepted into university and for people who are already employed in the industry but want to formalise and improve their qualifications, according to Simasuku. The new facilities also allow the centre to introduce online courses which can be supported by facilitators from the university or industry.