Fifty Namibians have been shortlisted for jobs under the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board's (NIPDB) joint initiative with MSC Cruises at Walvis Bay.
Job seekers attended a two-day session at Walvis Bay, as the NIPDB partnered with MSC Cruises to offer 200 employment opportunities on MSC vessels.
Officials stated that this initiative is part of a larger effort to address youth unemployment and create opportunities for global careers.
NIPDB Executive for Talent Innovation and Productivity Julia Muetudhana said, "We have 230 attendees, whereby we've got a letter of intent for 50 candidates, which is quite a milestone for us. Just to think that for the two years we've just recruited 25, but also we want to encourage any prospective candidate and potential candidate to continue upskilling themselves in terms of language and also the recruitment that I hope will continue."
The recruitment drive took place during a visit by one of MSC's cruise vessels to the harbour, highlighting the scale of the opportunities available.
Muetudhana explained that there are multiple job openings across different fields. Namibians are encouraged to learn the German language and apply, as the board reopens online applications on the 15th of May.
"So we've got many jobs on the cruises, and that's why we are saying that when you also look online for MSC cruise vacancies, there are so many vacancies that our young people can apply for. We are here to assist. We also want to disclose that we have no commercial value, and so we are actually happy to stand behind our government in terms of addressing the high youth unemployment and opening up these global employment opportunities."
Walvis Bay Mayor Johanness Shimbilinga urged young people to take advantage of these opportunities.
"All that I want to tell our youth is there is no end in life, and I am really encouraging everybody, our youth, to take up seriously different areas of opportunities, including studying different languages, not only German but also Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and any other language because the opportunity may come and then you will be able to take any offer around the world."
The initiative is expected to continue, with more recruitment drives planned as stakeholders work to ensure that more Namibians access employment opportunities.