The Berlin Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Berlin) wants to set up a new vocational school in Windhoek. The Namibian’s Arne Schütte (AS) spoke with IHK Berlin president Sebastian Stietzel (SS) about the plans.
Why does the IHK Berlin want to train skilled workers in Namibia?
We have been dealing with the challenges of the labour shortage here in Berlin for a long time. We currently have a shortage of around 90 000 skilled workers, and the business community is telling us that it is no longer just a shortage of skilled workers, but a shortage of workers in all sectors. Looking at our own potential, it quickly becomes clear that we are inevitably dependent on the influx of foreign workers. Even if we were to bring all the unemployed, all those who are now in school and all parttime workers into full-time employment, we would still not have closed the gap.
Why did you choose Windhoek as a partner?
Windhoek has been a partner city of Berlin since 2000. So, cooperation between our cities is nothing new. But, there are other reasons that speak in favour of Windhoek: Namibia is in the same time zone as Germany, which makes cooperation much easier. The fact that English is the official language in Namibia provides good conditions for our training programmes. There is also a high affinity for the German language in Namibia. This is important for integration into the labour market. Youth unemployment in Namibia is very high, at 38%. So, there is a great deal of interest from the Namibian side in terms of cooperation that gets young people into work. Windhoek mayor Queen Kamati has made this clear to us time and again.
How big is the potential? How many people do you want to train each year?
The potential is huge. Last year, there was a pilot project run by the Goethe-Institut Namibia, a language course whose graduates were offered an internship at a German company. Approximately 7 000 Namibians applied for the 25 places on offer. In Windhoek, 8 000 people go through a municipal vocational training centre every year. Of these, 60% remain unemployed. We expect that around half of these people are willing to undergo higher vocational training. We are, therefore, talking about a potential figure of 2 500 to 3 000 graduates per year. Of course, we can’t set up a training centre for 3 000 trainees from one day to the next. But the potential is great, as is the demand in Berlin.
What is your timeline?
The idea was born in February, and over the last few months, we have worked out a plan with German and Namibian partners. We are aiming to sign an agreement in Windhoek this month, and we expect to open the training centre in 2026.
Which professions will you train for?
We want to focus on the professions in which the demand for skilled workers is highest. This will certainly include areas like business services and hospitality, but also job profiles from industry and trades. The focus or specialisation will also depend largely on the companies that will cooperate with the training centre.
11.11.2024