Minister of Education, Innovation, Youth, Sports, Arts, and Culture, Sanet Steenkamp, said the government has put priority on vocational education, with a focus on transforming the sector from a supply-driven approach to a demand-driven one and ensuring that it responds to current and future skills needs.

Minister Steenkamp's sentiments were delivered on her behalf by Vocational Education and Training Director Dalia Mwiya at the opening of the two-day National Vocational Education workshop underway in Otjiwarongo.

Steenkamp said vocational education and training have reformed in the past ten years, and as such, it now has to consider the emerging sectors.

"These include the adoption of competency-based education and training, the introduction of a training levy to fund vocational programmes and projects, the introduction of World Skills Competitions, the re-introduction of apprenticeships, the revision of the Vocational Education and Training Policy, the approval of national assessment regulation, the development of an e-learning strategy, and many other exciting initiatives aimed at improving the standards and attractiveness of vocational education for school-going children and the youth."

According to Steenkamp, feasibility studies are underway for plans to transform some of the state-owned vocational training centres into TVET colleges.

"This will be an extensive, transformative process for the TVET sector, creating a new modern crop of training institutions and filling the gap that was created with the elevation of the then Polytechnic of Namibia into a University of Science and Technology. The possible introduction of technical colleges is also aligned with our reason for being here today, without going into the interventions planned for today and tomorrow."

She called on regional directorates, the TVET directorate and TVET-offering institutions to explore regional capacity and key economic labour markets of focus to align with the Sectoral Plan of Action.

 Gerhard Ndafenongo is the Education Director for the Otjozondjupa Region.

"We will engage in critical dialogue and collaborative planning to strengthen pre-vocational training in secondary schools and foster a strong relationship between schools and TVET institutions. Very much needed, and develop a clear pathway for vertical and horizontal progression on the national qualification framework as well as establish and publish entry requirements for TVET programmes, which are now harmonised with the national curriculum for basic education."

The workshop is being held under the theme -Foundation first, excellence always.