Hyphen Energy and the Hardap Regional Council have joined hands in signing a Memorandum of Understanding for skills development and capacity building.
The signing ceremony took place at Mariental.
The skills development initiative will mainly focus on enhancing youth skills through specialised training and capacity-building programmes.
It is expected to be extended to the ||Kharas Region in the near future.
Speaking on behalf of Mines and Energy Minister Tom Alweendo, the ministry's Executive Director, Penda Ithindi, described the initiative as a significant investment inflow with diverse socio-economic benefits for the country, and in particular for the Hardap Region.
"These benefits are often optimised through the value chain effects, not only the primary production activities. But if you look at the entire value chains that this industry is destined to catalyse and bring about, then the net benefits of the country and the social strata of the country and this region should be looked at from the perspective of that value chain lenses."
Hyphen Energy's Head of Environment and Social Governance, Toni Beukes, noted that the deal was the company's first of its kind MoU.
"This MoU lays the foundation for our collaboration, with a strong emphasis on technical training at the TVET level. Our goal is to ensure that local talent is well-equipped to seize the opportunities that will emerge from the implementation of the Hyphen project."
Hardap Governor Salomon April noted that the initiative marks the beginning of preparing the youth of the region to receive skills development education.
"The young people of Hardap Region do not even see the need of going to school anymore because they are demoralised. Their sisters, brothers, nephews, nieces, and cousins who finished matric a while ago are still just home. They don't get that push to want to come somewhere because all of them will only see the best place to groove off."
Hardap Regional Council Chairperson Francois Dausab said plans are at an advanced stage to construct a state-of-the-art VTC at Kalkrand.
Traditional leaders of both Hardap and ||Kharas regions also witnessed the MoU signing ceremony.